Aberrant: Mutant High - Shining Bright [FIN]

[GDP_ST]

((OOC: Takes place about the same time as Nerves... roughly))

He sat back in the rear passenger seat and gazed out the window, sky-blue eyes darkened by the clouds of current emotional turmoil. It wasn't just that his parents had found it so easy to say goodbye to him that bothered the young mutant; It was that he was finding it increasingly easy to say goodbye to them, too.

Like someone worrying at a sore tooth with their tongue, he reached into his heavy overcoat with a glowing hand and pulled out the re-folded letter he'd already committed to memory. He wasn't sure why: it just seemed like each re-reading added another layer of scar tissue to the initial wound. Maybe if he read the letter enough, it would stop hurting.

Alexander, he read the first word again. Not 'Son'. Not 'Alex'. Strange that a sudden change like this could alter their tone towards me so much. Am I that different a person? He looked down at the hand holding the letter, for a long moment considering the radiance emanating from the pores of his lightly-bronzed skin, and shrugged, his eyes returning to the letter once more.

Alexander,

I do hope this letter finds you in good health. With matters being the way they are, your father and I naturally believe that yours and the family's best interests are served by your attendance of the Lawrence Hunt Academy. Affairs have already been arranged so that you won't need to fly back home before entering into this new phase of your education. The doctors have assured us that you are in perfect health and adjusting well to your new status, and naturally we were pleased to hear this confirmed by you yourself over the phone.

We believe it is important that you continue to adjust as swiftly as possible. To that end, your father and I have set up a fund, to be administered under the auspices of Doctor Drumm, which will provide amply for you whilst you are in attendance of his Academy. Naturally, this fund will enter into your full control when you reach the age of 21. The financial security this provides you should, we hope, prove sufficient enough that you need not want for anything further from us.

Yours Sincerely,

Penelope Andrews.

Become a mutant. Become an obvious mutant. Do not pass JFK airport, do not return home for Christmas. Can't have mutie Alex outshining the xmas decor on the townhouse, can we? The boy thought to himself with some bitterness. What an embarrassment it would be for father's position in Whitehall. Bet they'd rather that I got crippled or killed in that fall. He stared at the letter, his eyes fixing on the last line. ...sufficient enough that you need not want for anything further from us...

Yeah, yeah. I get it. Goodbye, and fuck you very much. He felt tears start to prick at his eyes, but scowled instead, focusing his grief into ire, glaring at the letter.

Which abruptly burst into flame.

"Shit!" Alex beat the fire out as the driver looked back.

"What the heck are you doing back there, kid?"

"Sorry." Alex was flushing under his golden glow as he wound down the limo window to toss the still-smoldering paper out and disperse the smoke.

"Yeah, well just be careful. I don't need no mutant starting fires in my wheels, no matter who's paying the check." Alex nodded silently, still embarrassed.

He stared, unseeing, out of the window for the rest of the trip.

* * * * * * * *

The car pulled up in front of the impressive-looking mansion. Alex let himself out as the driver unloaded his bags onto the bottom step before climbing back into his car and driving off in what had to be the fastest and least ceremonious limo drop-off in history. The glimmering youth barely noticed. He stood there for a long moment, a tall, glowing, beautiful young man with an angel's tumble of golden hair and eyes as deep blue as a summer sky, dressed in black slacks, white shirt, and black wool overcoat, as the noise of the car's engine receded into the distance. Then he turned, taking in the landscape around him.

"Wow." he breathed, the word curling mistily in the chilly air. He noticed some figures moving around in the distance: it looked like a snowball fight in progress. In another direction, figures were moving around near the lake. He felt the urge to wander, to see the grounds, but that could wait until he'd at least set suitcases down in the right room. He moved to his bags and shouldered the guitar case, slung his carryon onto the other shoulder, and finally picked up a suitcase in each hand before starting up the steps.

[Curtis Shane]

As Curtis headed to his room, he caught sight of a rather sun-shiny, as he thought of it, obviously new. Let's see now, after comparing the good-looking teen in front of him to the profiles he's hacked....

Alexander Andrews, from England. Curtis noted that Alexander had a pair of bags, obviously settling into his room, so he walked over. "Need help with those?"

[GDP_ST]

"Thanks. I'm not even sure where I'm headed with them yet." Alex passed one of the suitcases over, taking the opportunity to study the other young man. Looks normal. he thought. Still, we can't all be obvious mutants, or people wouldn't be so shit-scared. He offered the other a newly-freed hand.

"Alex Andrews." he said by way of introduction. His accent was educated British, the distinctive tones of those rain-washed shores definitely at odds with the warm summer-afternoon glow surrounding him.

[Curtis Shane]

Curtis shrugged. "It's down the hall, here." He replied smoothly, pointing with a finger toward a room down the corridor, number 203.

Alex looked at him quizzically, and Curtis grinned casually. "I'm a cyberkinetic, and skilled hacker. I check up on all the new high-schoolers, because sooner or later I'm tutoring them."

[GDP_ST]

"Ah." Alex smiled a little at that, then nodded. "Well, in that case, I'll be sure to look you up if I need any help." He noted that the other still hadn't introduced himself. Awfully cocksure, too. Yeah, I think I'll muddle through somehow without extra tuition, thank you.

The two of them moved down the indicated corridor to door number 203, Alex opening the door and stepping into the double bed-spaced room. He plunked the suitcase he was holding onto the bed, then turned to retrieve the second from the other kid.

"Thanks for the help. I think I'll just chill out for a bit, unpack, that sort of thing. I'm still trying to adjust to..." he made a sweeping gesture with his free hand by way of illustration. "You know?"

[Curtis Shane]

Curtis nodded. Then he realized that he had forgotten something. "Damn it," he gasped "where did my manners go? Curtis Shane." he announced, extending for a handshake.

[GDP_ST]

Alex shook the offered hand. "Alex Andrews." he said again, a hint of a smile curving his lips. "I'll be wandering around after I've settled in, so I'll catch up with you later, Curtis. It was a pleasure meeting you."

Smiling, Alex closed the door. Well, he's not so bad. Just your average mad-geek-mutie. He chuckled a little at that. Well, let's get unpacked.

With that, he got to work. The guitar, a beautifully polished instrument lovingly tuned, went up first onto a stand. That ritual done, Alex set about the less important items of his baggage: clothing, toiletries, music CDs... all the usual paraphernalia of late adolescent male life started to be unpacked and put away with a certain amount of efficiency as the young mutant kept his hands busy and his brain in neutral, trying not to think about anything deeper than where to stack the AC/DC albums.

[GDP_ST]

Eventually, however, there was only so much a healthy young enquiring mind could do to occupy itself with CD arrangement and hanging up clothes. Alex sat on the edge of his bed, looking at the door of his room as though it were some kind of dread portal.

"Well, the terra's not going to get any less incognita with me sitting here." he said out loud. "Up and at them, Alexander." Suiting deed to word, the glowing, sunlight-wreathed youth stood and stripped off his overcoat, leaving it on the bed as he stepped out of his room and into the corridor beyond. He cocked an ear and listened to the distant bustle of voices and footsteps, laughter and the occasional shout. It wasn't that different from the private schools he'd attended in England.

Feeling a little heartened by this, the young man thrust his hands into the pockets of his slacks and ambled in the direction of the main hall. From there, he should be able to find the cafeteria that the brochure had mentioned.

[V. Vincent]

The clack of heeled boots on pavement filled the air as Violet paced back and forth, one arm clutched tightly across her midsection. Shivering near the entrance of the main hall in black knit stockings, a plum suede skirt, and a fluffy black sweater, she was wholly focused on finishing her conversation and getting back inside. Mentally, she cursed at the construction of the Academy's interior, which seemed to foil her cell phone signal, but miraculously left the wi-fi alone.

"...Yes, I'm sure. No, no, it's fine. We'll think of something else. ...I don't know, something that doesn't entail copyright infringe..."

At that moment, she chanced to look up from the icy sidewalk underfoot.

Oh, wow.

Even the dreariness of winter, with its vault of muted grey above and blanket of frigid white below, could not dim the warm brilliance that enveloped the blond Adonis as he meandered across the lawn. He bathed the cold earth, still mourning the death of the Summer King, in golden splendor, and people turned toward him instinctively as he passed.

"...ment. No, um... I'm here. Look, I'm gonna have to call you back."

Click. The phone snapped shut in Violet's hand, and her bright amethyst eyes were fixed on the luminous young man as he approached. She offered a quick mental apology to the Director of her dreams, and flipped her long purple hair back over her shoulder, smiling brightly as she moved to intercept the new student.

"Good afternoon!," she greeted him warmly, his own luminescence reflected back at him in her eyes. "You must be one of the new students I've heard so much about."

And the stories didn't even come close to doing you justice. Holy Mary, Stutter and Nod.

With scarcely a moment's pause, she added, by way of introduction, "I'm Violet, Violet Vincent. And you are?"

Apart from delicious. Oh, Drumm, darling, please forgive me.

[GDP_ST]

He'd noticed the girl talking on her mobile, of course. The lustrous purple hair was eye-catching, to say the least. And having been caught, the eye was not in any hurry to wander off again, either. Holy moley. Please god, let her come over here- she's coming over here!

He almost stopped as the vision of purple-hued beauty came towards him, but some dimly cognisant part of his brain kept his feet moving, changing direction to meet the lady halfway, in addition to sending signals to his face muscles that smiling was a much better response to the visual overload on two shapely legs than staring slack-jawed.

"Good afternoon." he managed as a first effort at conversation as she introduced herself. Her eyes gleamed like gold-tinted amethysts as the warm light of his swirling solar aura reflected from them. "And that I am. A new student, I mean." With a certain effort to overpower a sudden attack of shyness, he forced his deep azure gaze to meet hers. "Alex. I mean, my name's Alexander Andrews, but my friends call me Alex." And you are definitely someone I want as a friend.

He offered her a bronzed hand, the swirl of his aura quickening a little. This close, she could feel a gentle, comforting heat radiating from the tall youth, reminiscent of a warm spring afternoon. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Violet Vincent." The young man said with heartfelt frankness.

Is it ever.

[V. Vincent]

Her smile broadened, and the warmth she felt on clasping his hand wasn't limited only to her fingers. The solar aura was mesmerizing, suffusing the air around him with golden whirls and eddies that were almost, almost fascinating enough to pull her gaze away from his eyes. Staring up into those gold-flecked azure pools and drowning in light, she forgot to shiver.

God, he's so warm.

"Well, Alex Andrews," she murmured breathlessly, still grinning up at him, "let me be the first to say that I'd like to welcome you to the Lawrence Hunt Academy for the Genetically Gifted. We usually call it LHA, but a few of the upperclassmen decided 'Mutant High' was more appropriate, and it's sort of stuck."

Vi. You're staring. We do not stare. Stop it.

"I'm sorry," she laughed, shaking her head and finally, reluctantly, relinquishing her grip on his hand. "I don't mean to stare, and I'm sure it must seem rude. I just don't think I've ever seen anyone who looked so..." Smiling helplessly, she gestured toward him with both hands, shrugging as she did so. Amazing. "Amazing."

[GDP_ST]

Her hand slipped out of his, his own fingers as reluctant as hers to let go. Fingertips tingling briefly where the last lingering contact had been, Alex tried to rally in the face of the purple-eyed goddess who seemed to be She is. She's totally into me. Okay, this is worth any amount of glowing. He smiled wider, feeling a little light-headed. Hey, she's talking! Pay attention!

"No, you're not being rude. At least, I don't think so. Who'd mind being called amazing by anyone as gorgeous as you?" he asked rhetorically, then blinked, a faint shade of deeper bronze spreading under the skin of his face. To his credit, though, his eyes didn't leave hers as he grinned, a little abashed. "Um, yes. That sounded much more suave and much less overwhelmed in my head." He took a deep breath, unable or unwilling to look away.

"So..." he began, no trace of hesitation in his manner. "I was wondering where the cafeteria was before we met. And now I'm wondering if you've had lunch yet, and if not, would you like to come and have some with me?"

[V. Vincent]

"You must have read my mind," the sophomore replied with a giddy grin, summoning up just enough presence of mind to stop herself from dancing around in glee at the prospect. "I'm absolutely starving, and the food here is surprisingly good. Must be all that private funding."

It was going to be difficult to maintain a perspective of conscious neutrality with Alex, she realized, as the pair of young mutants headed off toward the cafeteria. He had a certain presence that seemed to buoy her spirits, keeping her pleasantly off-guard and feeling more than a little buzzed; just looking at him was a decidedly dangerous proposition.

It's like drinking champagne, without the headache, she laughed inwardly. And then: I wonder if he'd like champagne? Hm.

"I hope you'll tell me all about yourself," she said, struggling to normalize the dreamy tone of her voice. "It's always so nice to meet someone new, and I'd be happy to introduce you to some of the other students here, once you've settled in a bit."

Whew. This must be how Sonja's fan-boys feel. Just... don't be clingy. Don't stare. And, for god's sake, Violet, stop grinning!

[GDP_ST]

Don't be creepy. Don't stare. And for god's sake stop grinning like an idiot!

If Alex had realised how closely his own thoughts were mirroring Violet's, he would probably have laughed. As it was, he was fighting to keep the daffy grin threatening to break out on his face to a reasonable, if somewhat exuberant smile as the two of them entered the main building and, following Violet's lead, headed towards the cafeteria. It was hard. The scent Violet used had hints of sweet vanilla in it somewhere, and that was a distraction, seeming to waft from her glorious purple hair with every other step she took.

"Well, there's not a whole lot to tell about me. English, father's in the Civil Service, Mother's an exec for a pharmaceutical firm. Neither of them could really deal with my change so they were happy to shunt me off here." There was the barest hint of bitterness there, but Alex didn't seem willing to dwell on it. "I only just changed, or manifested, or whatever you want to call it. Rock-climbing in Arizona." He shrugged, giving the beauty beside him a smile. "To quote Doug Adams, I threw myself at the ground and managed to miss."

"So," he fixed his sky-blues on her face, drinking in her pale skin with his eyes. Don't stare... "What about you, Violet? How'd you end up here?"

[V. Vincent]

Oh, wow. I had no idea my name sounded so good before. It's gotta be the accent- Wait. No, no. Bad. Divert. Redirect!

"Rock-climbing?" she replied instead, sounding genuinely impressed as she arched a violet brow. She had a hard time imagining someone as apparently sane as Alex willingly flinging himself at the ground, but they'd only just met, and asking someone if they manifested while attempting to kill themselves would have been... a bit much. "You know, I think it's more likely that the ground moved than that you missed," she added, a teasing sparkle in her eyes. I know I would've. You don't go smashing works of art.

"And, my manifestation?" Shrugging, she waved her hands dismissively. "It's a long, boring story, honestly, and I think it's more important to plan for the future than to dwell on the past, you know? There's an infinite number of opportunities, possibilities out there just waiting for someone to grab them up. Even here at the school. There are probably a thousand students here, all of them with unique talents, and all of them in need of direction."

Subtle, her rapid change of subject was not, and she knew it, but she liked this Alex Andrews, with the blue eyes and the shy smile and the spring sunshine aura of warmth. She was in no particular hurry to challenge the tenuous strength of a pleasant acquaintance newly-forged.

Still...

As they entered the cafeteria, still bustling with activity, she relented somewhat.

"If you want to, we can talk about all that later, though. I don't really like discussing what I did, since it makes a lot of people..." She trailed off, her smile slipping by degrees. "Uncomfortable." Sighing, she clapped her hands together briskly, and the sunny smile returned. "Now, I'm starving, and I want to know everything! Let's get something to eat, and then you can tell me all your deepest, darkest secrets over the mashed potatoes."

[GDP_ST]

"Deepest, darkest secrets, hmm?" Alex bantered back, though he managed to spare a glance around the cafeteria as they entered, his own illumination gently adding to the airy, well-lit decor of the place. The white cotton of his shirt was rendered less opaque by the solar radiance surrounding his body, though he didn't realise it. He met the stares being leveled at him with smiles and nods during his evaluative sweep of the room, then looked back at Violet as they joined the food line.

"Well, just so long as you don't mind me making up some interesting stuff to mask the boring bits." he quipped as he opted for a lion's share of roast beef and a small mountain of mashed potatoes as his main course, conscientiously adding spinach salad to his tray as well. Carrot cake, milk and a Coke rounded off the meal: he'd noticed that lately the more calories he could take in the better. He followed Violet (which, he remarked to himself silently, was no great chore) over to a table and sat across from her, glancing around once more at the cafeteria's occupants, catching Curtis' eye and giving the brainiac an amiable nod before turning his attentions back to his lunch date.

"Well," he began as he started the usual meal 'pre-flight check': salt, pepper, mustard, drink's open or poured. "I manifested mainly as a result of my own bloody-minded stupidity, I suppose." He took a mouthful of soda, then explained further as he started mixing his gravy and potatoes into an appetizing mess. "I like to climb, but this last, oh, 18 months or so I got a yen for free-climbing. I liked the danger, I guess. That and doing something I really shouldn't have been doing." He frowned thoughtfully as he chewed, making sure to swallow before resuming. "Being honest, I think the main attraction was that it would send my parent's absolutely batshit if they knew about it, as well as it being something that was mine, really mine to do. Something that they couldn't possibly make theirs through encouraging me, because of course they wouldn't." He paused again, taking in another mouthful.

"So there I am, halfway up a 600 foot cliff, the base of which was lots of tumbled, sharp jagged rocks. I reach an impasse: the nearest handgrip is seven or so feet away, just out of reach. I don't want to go down, and I'm free-climbing, so I've got no gear to bridge the gap with. In that situation, the sensible choice would be to go back down a little ways and try to pick out a different path up." He gave Violet a wry smile. "That would be the sensible thing to do... So what do I do? I decide that doing the sensible thing would be 'backing down' or 'letting the cliff beat me'. I tell myself that a swing, jump and grab will take me over the seven feet. So like a bloody idiot that's what I try to do."

Alex shook his head. "I find out, to my horrified chagrin, that it's more like ten feet to the handhold. I find this out in mid-air, 300 feet above some rocks on whose sharpness and jagged nature I have already commented." He grinned self-deprecatingly, shaking his head. "And so my graceful leap becomes a graceless, screaming plummet. And that's when it happened: Whoosh!. I feel the hot sun pouring into me, I feel my fall slowing, and the next thing I know I'm swooping rather than falling, and I'm glowing like this." He gestured at himself, shrugging. "And it didn't even take fairy dust."

"So it turns out after all the screaming and shouting dies down that I can store and use solar radiation. That's my schtick. Not sure what I can do with it other than fly and light up rooms right now, but that's not so bad. Flying, I mean. Mutant High-" he grinned at Violet as he used the Academy's nickname "- offered to teach me how to use this and how to control it... which might not be a bad idea. And my parents were happy to sign me up." He finished with a lightheartedness he didn't altogether feel. He smiled at Violet, shrugging.

"And that's how Alex came to LHA." he declared with a seated half-bow and expressive sweep of his arms.

[V. Vincent]

As they meandered through the lunch line, Violet took note of what the statuesque blonde piled onto his tray: meat and potatoes, with greens added almost as an afterthought. It was relatively simple fare for someone who looked to be as well-heeled as Alex Andrews, and that fact alone was fairly gratifying. For her own part, she avoided the roast beef, the gravy, and anything else that might drip or ooze, and when they took their seats and began eating, she started straight away with the chocolate cake.

She'd only managed a couple of bites before she forgot she was holding a fork, instead focusing all her attention on what her delightfully luminous companion was saying. To be specific, she was mostly watching the shape of his mouth as he spoke and just letting the sound of his voice wash over her in that glorious, accented English that sounded so exotic to the sixteen-year-old. Had she become aware of it, she'd have been horrified to realize that "Drummy" was nowhere in her thoughts.

Still, neither the whole of the story itself, nor the undercurrents of rebellion that ran through it, escaped her grasp, and she decided she liked him more for it. A person's psyche was like a gift to be unwrapped slowly, the better to savor its eventual unveiling, and she was in no hurry to strip away all of Alex's charm and mystique by spoiling the surprise for herself.

The natural cadence of his speech was well-suited to storytelling, and Violet found herself nodding, wide-eyed as he described his rapid descent down the cliffside. It didn't take a great deal of imagination to envision the terror he must've felt, and the young girl grimaced in sympathy.

Oh, yeah. It's gonna be hard to be neutral with this one.

The story of his manifestation was like a brief ride on a roller-coaster at 90 miles an hour, and when he was done, she had to admit she felt a little breathless; whether it was the tale, or the teller that made her so, however, was still up for debate.

"Bra-vo," Velvet laughed brightly as he took his bow, clapping her hands in girlish pleasure. "Tell me, Mister Andrews," she added teasingly, "have you considered joining the Drama Club? Or was that a preview of your forthcoming autobiography?" With an impish grin, she took another bite of her dessert, nudging his shin playfully with her foot.

[GDP_ST]

"Why, no, Miss Vincent." Alex smiled broadly, a pleased flush darkening his tanned face. "That was an improvised performance, purely for your enjoyment." The rapt attentiveness of those striking irises hadn't been lost on the young solar godling, who was feeling a little warmer than usual even when allowing for his aura.

"But I might be persuaded to join the Drama Club." he added with a playful tone of his own. "Say... If some pretty girl with striking coloration were to say 'Hey Alex, come along to Drama Club with me.'" He grinned at her, an expression as much shy entreaty as it was devastating flirtation, trying not to get too distracted by the sight of her forkful of dessert disappearing behind those perfect lips. He coughed, trying to kick his brain back UP the evolutionary ladder.

"Are there many after-school activities or groups around, then? I'm a fair chess-player, though no master. I'm learning the guitar; I like to swim and climb, though being able to fly takes the thrill out of that a bit." His eyes gravitated to hers once more. "What do you like to do?"

[V. Vincent]

Suddenly, the Director's suggestion sounded even better.

"Weellll," she mused shyly, twirling her fork in the remains of the chocolate, "someone did mention I should consider it. The Drama club, I mean. I would definitely feel better signing up if someone I knew went along with me..." Glancing coquettishly up at him through the fringe of her lashes, she found herself drowning once more in the blue of his eyes.

Oh, crap. Staring again. Um... Wow, even his eyelashes are blonde... That is so... Wow. ...Staring! Vi. Stop it. Talk, for crying out loud!

Suddenly, she blinked, breaking the spell and leaning back from the table with a surprised laugh.

"Sorry, you just- I mean, you're so- and it's hard to-" Exhaling slowly, the violet-eyed girl abruptly stemmed the tide of words tumbling meaninglessly from her lips. She cleared her throat as her cheeks flushed scarlet, slowly setting down her fork before she injured herself. Oh, that was just great, Vi. Really. Well done. You didn't sound like an idiot at all.

"Ahem. Um, anyway, I like to do all sorts of things." Just name something, I might try it if you smile like that again. "I've been trying to learn to play the piano, for example. I'm terrible at it," she admitted with a rueful smile, "but my mom's really good, and I sort of miss not hearing her play in the mornings." She paused for a moment, unable to resist a moment of wistful indulgence thinking about the sound of the music that would greet her as she woke; about the way her mother looked sitting at the piano, a cup of coffee still steaming nearby with the morning sunlight turning her greying hair into silver. "But, ah, there are all sorts of extra-curriculars- clubs, groups, sports, all that kind of stuff. The Chess Club is pretty active. I think the president is a Russian kid who's supposed to be amazing."

[GDP_ST]

Violet's laughter broke the spell both ways, and Alex's tenor chuckle mixed with the silver of the girl's laughter as both teens came back (somewhat) from the land of pink songbirds and unseen orchestras.

"It's cool that you're learning the piano. I learned a little of that myself, mainly so as to learn basic music reading as a kid. Well, as a younger kid." He smiled at her, a mischievous gleam in his eye. "And yes, I'd love to come to Drama Club with you. We'll team up, guard each other's backs, and make a fighting retreat if any hardcore thespians start throwing shoes at us." He took a long drink of his soda, swallowing hard as he tried not to get enchanted again by the warm eyes... the smile... the Fuck! Wake up! He blinked, then gave Violet a wry, abashed smile.

"You almost certainly hear this a lot, but you're quite dangerously entranc-"

The sound was part *crump*, part *splatter*, with lots of splatters in short succession afterwards. It was sufficiently out of place in a cafeteria that Alex's head snapped around, his blue eyes widening in surprise as he saw the meatloaf descend onto a scar-faced Japanese youth's head, an aggressive-looking American kid standing with his back to him. There was an air of terrible stillness over the scene, similar to the calm before a storm of epic proportions.

"-ing." His mouth finished saying even as his brain realised that this, of course, meant war.

[V. Vincent]

The laughing, the smiles, the imaginary sound of doves cooing- it all ended with that splatter and the awful silence that followed, and then Violet was stumbling awkwardly back from the table as quickly as she could. Every instinct she had was screaming at her to flee, or hide, and that fear transmitted perfectly through wide, amethyst eyes.

She looked first at Alex, and then at the two new students in the center of a quickly-widening group of people.

"This is not going to go well," she muttered anxiously, slowly backing away from the impending violence. "Rain check?" the sophomore asked her companion hopefully, a worried quaver in her voice.

[GDP_ST]

He heard the Japanese student rise, bellowing in anger as he looked back at Violet, seeing her impulse to flee. Truth be told, he felt like it himself, but some conflicting impulse Never back down, never give an inch, better to die on your feet than live on your knees kept the glowing mutant from fleeing alongside her.

"Go wide around them and get out." he told her, amazed at the calm in his voice, a calm he didn't feel, deep inside. "Find someone that can stop them both if you can. And yes," he smiled at her, a dazzling smile. "This conversation is definitely 'to be continued'."

With that, Alexander Andrews turned, took a deep breath and stepped toward the brewing battle.

Continued in 'Nerves'