---

The tingling sensation in Lucian's stomach grew as he watched more and more mutants show off thier powers. To be honest, he found some to be a bit of a let down.

Oh she can fly, oh cool!

Oh wow, super speed, the most generic power you could ever have! Radical!

Lucian's sarcastic, eyeball rolling thoughts ended when the goth girl stood to present. Christie, as she said her name was, compared her power to that of Meg in the 'Family Guy Viewer Mail #1' episode, which he remembered watching himself. She was basically, a crazier version of X-23. Through simple deduction, Lucian was able to put two and two together. Instead of Adamantium, she was injected with Vibranium.

Despite his admiration for Christie's power and looks, he agreed with William, her choice in codename was, meh. Funny thing was, William had no right to talk, the least he could do was have his name actually correlate with his damn power, who was he trying to impress with a name like Paladin.

"I wouldn't be talkin William, Paladin ain't got shit on Hairdusa, at least hers makes sense." he said with a chuckle as he watched Sophie and William got at it.

Hey looks like we have a female Zeus among us. Lucian thought sarcastically as he turned back to watch Astrid flex her mutant muscles.

Before another mutant could take the stage Lucian made his way over to Christie, who appeared to be talking to Grace, so he ended up walking in on the middle of Grace's sentence.

"I disagree, your Codename could use a bit more work, what about…Axotal. Little Mexican salamanders who can regrow limbs. BAM!" Lucian proclaimed, is ever so present grin plastered itself on his face once again.

Interacting with: Will @smarty0114
Location: the room viewing the underground range

---

---

Sophie smiled at Will's response, yet did not look away from the fridge. "Hate to break it to ya, but the only one that's unable to take the heat here is you. And it's not like you had any genitals to burn, at least, not now anyway." She called over to him, ignoring his glares at her. She pulled out a breakfast bar from the fridge and leaned against the nearest wall as she ate her breakfast with an amused smile as she watched the others interact with Christie, while at the same time, keeping her distance from everyone. She was satisfied with just watching from a distance, she received the enjoyment of watching others happily interact with each other, while, at the same time not getting too close to anyone and threaten loosing control of her powers. Once she finished eating her breakfast, she shoved the wrapper in her back pocket, then continued to lean against the far wall and watch the others.

James began to get a bit antsy as verbal one liners were thrown back and forth. It wasn't just because he wasn't a fan of this crap. Every time he opened his mouth, Will managed to rub him the wrong way. Reminded him too much of his tormentors from high school. Finishing his breakfast, James casually teleported to the trash can, threw out his garbage, and went back to his seat. He was about to go back to awkwardly observing the conversation, as usual, before he suddenly realized something. He just casually used his powers. In fact, that was the first time he had used them for something so simple. Perhaps this whole "mutant school" idea was starting to rub off on him. Realizing he wasn't really paying attention, James shook himself from his thoughts and observed, waiting for the Professor to continue the lesson. Whatever it would be.

---

Will's comment did not even hurt her in any way if a comment about her costume came up she would have been. Strangely though people seemed to overlook it though now Christie had to repair it slightly due to showing off her healing factor. On top of that, she heard much worse outside of this building. The newbie soon gave a quick reply before Will went off to introduce himself. "I did not choose these codenames, they are just stuck with me. Lady Vibranium and Hairdusa have origins behind them though nothing special. Hairdusa was used to mock me and be hurtful but I have heard worse. The other code name is a mystery to me. I had dog tags which had the code name Lady Vibranium on them." To this day she had never thought about a code name, Lady Vibranium had a cool ring to it and the other one just stuck to her like glue. She did not think of anything bad of Will, she saw it as a strange playful type of quip which was not witty in any way.

The mutant soon showed off his powers, it seemed each person here had their own unique powers. The mutant who was known as Sophie soon came on over. What she heard was new to Christie, hardly anyone ever stuck up for her and it seemed people out there were willing to do so. Sophie and Will were going to enter into a verbal fight as far as Christie, hell the whole room was concerned. The fact she set Will on fire was somewhat surprising though she did not show any sign of surprise or ill will about it. It sounded like Sophie liked Christies codename and powers, however, the newbie would still trade them in for anyone else's powers. "Thank you, at least someone likes these Meg Griffin powers. I really like your powers, I can't wait to see you grow as an X-Man" she said in a positive and friendly tone. She liked Sophie already and hoped they would be friends very soon.

Next up was Grace who was also very nice to Christie. It seemed not just one person liked her powers but two did. A smile crossed the newbies face, the Meg Griffin powered like mutant could see Grace blushing a bit. When she mentioned idols Christie lit up like a Christmass tree. It seemed even Lucian came in to say something nice even though his comment was not directed at her though she was part of the subject. Lucian soon brought up the codename thing could use a little work, though. "Well Lucian it is just a code name, if you want you can call me by my mysterious code name Lady Vibranium then please do. Or yet you can give me a nickname if that makes you happy. Someone I knew called me fluff one time though she was only five years old. As I said to Will these names were either given to me my someone else or became stuck to me like glue. Medusa was cool anyway so I don't even feel bad I was named partly after her."

Christie soon spoke to Grace. "Oh, Wolverine he is very cool. I met him once you know, the first word I heard that left his lips were bub. I don't know what that means, though? Anyway I love your wings, they are beautiful and they looked soft. Maybe one day I could feel them, Miss Angel.... I mean Grace." Christie grew a little red herself, the room was full of attractive people which made her want to flirt with them, however, she had to restrain herself a little longer. Her sexuality was a mystery and at that felt finding out would tie her down. So far she had been attracted to all identities so far. "To be honest Grace, Lucian I tend to doubt my gifts but maybe that will change while I am here," she said quickly.

While Christie was talking to Grace another mutant turned up, she did not see what she looked like or what she was doing, though. It was only when she heard the word stay back was when Christie turned to look. Though her sight was away from Grace her ears and half of her focus was still on the friendly mutant. The mutant introduced themselves like they all did before her, Astrid was her name and AC was her codename which was cleverly done. Her powers looked very cool when she showed them off and she even ended it with a pun. With that done Christie looked over to Grace and Lucian, they now had 99% of Christie's focus. It seemed Will and Sophie were still exchanging comments even when they went to different sides of the room. Charlotte soon stepped in it seemed, she told those who were bickering to stop fighting.

Christie was a little weary of Charlotte, she had no ill will towards her, though, but those who could read minds would sometimes read minds by accident. Jean Grey and Professor X were the only ones she willing let in her head, she did one time have another try to peek inside her head but that ended badly when Christie went into a blind rage for unknown reasons. No one died but people got hurt and the environment was damaged and destroyed in the process. Jean Grey and Wolverine came to her aid that day, that was the second time they met each other. Trying to read Christie's mind meant you had to go down several levels of her subconsciousness which would lead to her lost memories of the Weapon X type programme. That in turn, would cause Christie to go into a blind rage, one that was basically Wolverine and X-23 rolled into one. The programme had left her mentally unstable even though she had no recurring nightmares and was easy mess with when it came to mental attacks.

---

"I'll be honest Christie, your codename is your name. As long as you don't also have the power to turn me into stone with one look we all good. You two already doing it with your looks." Lucian said smoothly.

Lucian enjoyed conversing with new kids, they were like a blank slate, a new start. 'Shape clay into the vessel you want'' his grandma always said, although she had also said he was a demon in human skin, she was a religious type. The oh so memorable feeling of betrayal shot through Lucian for a second, but it feeling so intense it felt as if it lasted ten. It was a feeling that made you desperate for attention, approval, and affection. It made you feel nauseous. It killed your self esteem, your trust, everything. It was like you were on your first roller coaster; everything's too fast to comprehend, and as you are plunged down that steep hill your stomach lurches into your throat, choking you and making a huge tangle of organs and intestines. And when the ride ends things are a bit clearer, but everything is still dizzy and you are a bit numb. Or, worse, all your nerves are alive as ever and your senses are heightened. You want to go back on the ride again, because maybe next time the ride will be easier on you, and it will be as if it never hurt you. 

When you get off a roller coaster, it's as if the whole world is spinning around fast but you are standing still. There are strings holding you down and everybody is watching the one person who can't move. You are vulnerable and you have no idea how to snip the strings and move on.

Lucian rubbed his cheek out of habit, he was to damn philosophical for his own good. Bad memories always plunged him into the murky depths of his own mind, then he spewed of out all that crap.

Upon hearing Christie's doubt about her own power, Lucian felt a connection, although whatever she went through to get that Vibranium, he could not understand, but the feeling of doubt, he understood that.

"Christie, it'll change, I'm sure. Doubt is one of the most debilitating things that we have to deal with on a day-to-day basis. Doubting this 'gift' of yours won't help you in the long run. Hey, on the bright side, you have a room full of psychotic, half-witted, fear inducing young adults who are more than willing to stick with you through think and thin. Or at least me and Grace are, I think, maybe." Lucian affirmed, looking at Grace expectantly on the last part. He wasn't one to put people one the spot, but this was one of those serious then funny bonding moments that only happened when third friend agreed with the philosophical one.

Bryson Anderson

Interacting with: Whoever is still around to watch demonstrations
Location: Xavier's Institute Basement

---

Bryson, thankful that he wasn't in trouble for being late, breathed a sigh of relief. He watched halfheartedly as each individual displayed their powers. While they were all indeed interesting, he knew that at one point, he would have to demonstrate his own. As if right on time, he was called out by one of the other mutants, Will, codename Paladin.

"I think we've yet to see a demonstration from the resident nut job. Well, the other resident nut job. Would you care to show off?"

"Did he just call us a 'nut job'?"

"What do you want to see? Do you want us to burn your pants again? Or do you want us to blow your socks off?" Bryson turned to the others still standing around, "We haven't come up with a codename yet. We didn't know that we were supposed to."

"If I may," Bryson turned his head up to the ceiling as if Orion were talking above him, "We could call ourselves Nebula. When Corvus and I first manifested ourselves inside your mind, we agreed to name ourselves after the two constellations. These names appear to be thematic, and Nebula would fit all criteria."

Bryson returned from his semi-trance, and addressed the group once more. "That's a great idea! We'll call ourselves Nebula." Bryson paused for a moment, before remembering that he was supposed to demonstrate his abilities. "Oh, yeah, we forgot. Our powers are everyone's pow-"

Bryson was interrupted by Orion and Corvus, who took this as their opportunity to reveal themselves. Only this time, it was different. Instead of a single transparent being falling from him, Bryson's body faded from view as the two took his place. The two shadowy figures stood side by side, their red and purple "skin" contrasting each other. They were nearly exact copies of Bryson, except for the obviously transparentness.

"My name is Orion. This is my counterpart, Corvus. You might have seen us around. To put it simply, we have the ability to mimic other abilities. Is there anyone willing to help us demonstrate?"

"Ooh! How about fire lady? That looks like fun! We can set Silly Willy's pants on fire again!" Corvus let out a cackle at the thought of Will's pants bursting into flames again.

Orion turned to Sophie, the pyro of the group. "Well, if she wants to assist us, that would be wonderful. How about it?"

Sophie was a little startled when Bryson split into two copies of himself but was quick to accept what was happening and tried to make a mental note of who was who. "I have no problem with helping so long that you don't do whatever Lucian did to me, and we don't set anyone's pants on fire; that was a one time thing." She said to the clones. It was clear that she was nervous about what they had in mind. What Lucian did felt too unnatural and she didn't like it. She approached the clones. "So, what do you want me to do?"

Corvus frowned after Sophie turned down his idea of setting Will's pants on fire again. He assumed a position roughly ten feet away from her; the further he was, the less powerful the connection was.

"All you have to do, Sophie, is stand there. Corvus and I will do the rest," Orion said as he walked into the underground range. He held his hands out, familiarizing himself with the new power. Each one felt slightly different, and it took a while to get used to the new ones. He could feel the presence of fire, almost like it had replaced his blood. Once he had a moment to get used to the new feeling, he activated the power, and set a dummy on fire. It didn't burn nearly as bright as Will's pants had, but the heat was intense enough to melt the plastic.

Corvus stepped out of range of Sophie, deactivating the power. "I still think we should have set his pants on fire."

Orion returned to the others, and fused back together with Corvus. Bryson reappeared in their place, looking a little winded. "We did it. That's our power."

As soon as it had seemed like Sophie had gotten used to the two copies, they had already fused back together and Bryson now stood in their place. "That was awesome! You guys were awesome, all three of you! Ya know, if you ever decide to copy my powers again, I could give you guys a few pointers on how to use it." She replied excited with a happy and excited smile.

In her spare time, she had read Bryan's file, but to see the real deal was a feeling entirely different than what she would experience when reading about it.

"Her powers seem extremely powerful, and potentially dangerous. It would indeed be a good idea to learn how to properly use them."

Bryson once again looked up while listening to Orion. To the others around him, he was just staring at nothing. Once Orion finished, Bryson addressed Sophie like nothing had happened. "Thanks! We'll keep that in mind," Bryson said. He walked to an empty chair, and sat down, feeling slightly drained from using his powers. Not only did Orion and Corvus have to copy the power, but they had to use it. It was quite a draining process.

Sophie gave Bryson one more final nod and smile before returning to her spot against the wall.

---

Grace looked at Lucian for a moment with a look that could only be described as a deer in the headlights look. She shook her head slightly to the left and smiled, a full teeth, shining smile. "Of course," She stated and laughed. She had gotten his humor and was relieved that people were talking to her and not down on her. It was a nice, relieving change. She looked back to Christie, still smiling a little. "You can touch them if you want. Most people shy away from them, and me for that matter. They give them the heebie Jeebies."

Shrugging off her jacket, she turned her right shoulder toward Christie. Her wings stayed firmly tucked to her back, but some of the feathers were exposed, giving Christie the opportunity to touch them. This was as far as she had ever gone in letting people see her wings. Most people really did wince or shy away from them, even mutants. Most mutants have powers that they use. It seemed that a lot of them didn't have physical mutations as severe as Grace did. She glanced over her shoulder as Bryson took center stage.

She turned her head to the side, biting her lip slightly. Trying to figure out exactly what he was doing. She hadn't really had time to read up on everyone else. She had glanced at a few files here and there, but no heavy reading. She did remember reading something about Bryson and one or two other names in his file. After he was finished with Sophie Grace looked over at the professor expectantly. most of them had shown off their abilities and she was wondering where this exercise was going from here.

She looked over at Lucian, who was watching Bryson intently. Is he going to make some sort of looney remark? She wondered worriedly. She tucked her hair behind her ear and muttered quietly," You can feel them too, Lucian, if you're interested in how they feel."

Interacting with: Everyone present
Location: Sophie's room in the basement then in the room viewing the underground range

---

---

Once everyone had introduced themselves and displayed their powers, Francis addressed the class once more. "So, I assume everyone has introduced themselves? Good. Now, remember these names well because we are now going to split up into 4 different groups. Aside from myself, Lucian, Johnny, and Charlotte will be the leader of their groups. They have been around much longer and they are far more experienced students that will help you in learning how to control your powers. They will also consistently be giving me reports on your progress. If no progress is being made, I will drop you out of the class and you will be sent home, am I making myself quite clear?" He said then paused, giving the class a long, hard stare. [color]"No objections? Then onto the next task. I have already decided the groups. They are: Grace, Christie, and Bryson in Jonny's group, James and Astrid in Lucian's group, and Sophie and William in my group. Each group's leader will inform their team of where and when they will meet from now on and their classes will be there. Understood?"[/color]

"Professor? Can I switch groups with someone else? William has made it quite clear that he will not be willing to team up with me. I don't want to be sent home for something I couldn't control." Sophie asked, raising her hand slightly.

"No Sophie, my decision stands. It is because you don't work together, that I purposely paired you two together. You both need to learn how to get along with each other and become each other's strengths, not weaknesses. You both have so much in common that you both have yet to see in each other, and that's because you have yet to get over these petty grudges and actually take the chance to learn about and from each other. "

"But Francis he--"

"That is enough Sophie! My decision is final!" Francis snapped at her, yet just barely raising his voice for a moment then sighed. "You will all eat together and share the same rooms with your teammates, so that you may better bond with them. This is my final decision. ARE WE CLEAR?"

Sophie flinched then looked down, wearing a defeated and embarrassed expression, and nodded obediently. She then turned her head and made eye contact with Will, giving him a long, steady stare, her eyes held no ill intentions towards him, just defeat and exhaustion. Her gaze then returned to the ground and sighed, then ran a hand through her hair, trying to figure out how she was going to handle this.

Late, sure. But time is objective. Subjective. One of those terms.

Stepping out of a fresh shower and seeing the time strike 8:20 am, well, Peter making it in time meant forgoing a lot of routine. Unfortunately, Peter didn't shy away from routine. He wouldn't be that kind of guy. He wouldn't forgo a nice breakfast if the consequence meant getting yelled at, either. Important or not, breakfast surmised a hefty portion of his diet - a diet that required strict routine. And, well, like it'd been stated many times before: Peter didn't break routine. Of course, he'd have to shift things over if this 8:30 thing became a regular occurrence, that he didn't find a problem. It was just not knowing yet that caused him to flit about with indifference rather than haste.

Taking the trek one step at a time, Peter ventured into the institute's spacious kitchen. He shoved a poptart retrieved from the cupboard into his mouth and made his way toward the basement's entrance. Of course, there was being obstinate and then there was being cantankerous. Peter didn't prefer the latter over the former and many knew that, so many expected him to do things with whatever air of whatever mood he'd been in and stare down a barrel of a gun with narrowed eyes. He wouldn't, however, put that gun in the mouth and proceed to taunt the offender.

He'd have to be drunk or high to do something like that.

So, it came as no surprise that the moment he moved through the basement's passages did he find himself at the end of yet another scolding shout. Or, well - Peter poked his head through the doorway, poptart half eaten in his mouth. He spotted numerous folks inside, displaying what they had and mingling among each other. And, what he thought had been directed at him, had actually been directed at Sophie, that quiet girl who rarely left her room on this very floor. Peter hitched a brow before sauntering in, knowing full well he'd be seen by Professor Latour. He waited by the doorway, away from the crowd of bystanders in order to await any scolding he'd get for his - he checked his watch - ten minutes of utter lateness. Peter would groan, but that would just grab more unneeded ire.

If the fact that the word 'vibrate' wasn't so literal with him, he'd describe himself as vibrating with anticipation. The idea of what lay ahead didn't sit well with Peter, but what may hide behind that? Well, that was worth getting excited over.

He gave a small wave to those away from him, hoping to at least quell some of that energy as he finished off his lovely breakfast. Was he the last to arrive? God, he hoped not. That'd be extremely embarrassing. There goes trying to keep eyes everywhere but on him.

Wes might have been freaking out a little. He was late. Ten minutes late. Okay, that didn't sound so bad, when one stopped and thought about it, but it was. This seemed pretty damn important, and it had been stressed to not be late. Wes was a sucker for following directions, unless he found something morally unsettling about them, and so he was a bit panicked as he darted towards the basement. Oh, what he would give to trade his ability of controlling sound waves for something like super speed, or teleportation. Teleportation would be really helpful right now. Stomach empty, heart racing, Wes just about levitated down the stairs towards the basement. He might have almost tripped in his haste, but he wasn't going to linger on that, since he hadn't face-planted into the floor. He was rarely late for things, especially things that Professor Latour himself told him to be present for, and so it wasn't surprising that Wes was jittery.

He wasn't sure what he would be interrupting, even if he wasn't interrupting anything, he was going to feel bad regardless, and came through the doorway in quick succession, stopping a few feet from the entrance, and breathing a bit heavier from his rush. He looked a bit frazzled, rocking back on his heels and squeezing his hands together, playing with his fingers. He had missed the tension that just occurred, hadn't even heard it, and now his whole focus was directed at Professor Latour. Wes couldn't let something like this happen again; not only did he feel bad and jittery, he also felt embarrassed. Everyone else had been on time, and here he was, coming in out of breath and looking quite apologetic for it. He, apparently, hadn't noticed Peter leaning against the wall by the doorway, since he had zoomed in and barely glanced around before focusing on Professor Latour.

"Professor, I am so, so, sorry. I shouldn't be this late but I just-" he paused in his quick sentence here, because well, the reason he had been late involved a cat. A cat... that may or may not be in his room now. He really didn't want to be embarrassed by that fact on top of being scolded, because surely he would be. He quickly backtracked in his head. "There is no excuse for my tardiness and I am very sorry." he finished lamely, eyes dropping to the floor as he gnawed on his bottom lip; he obviously felt very bad for being late, but that still didn't excuse the fact he was late.

---

---

Will had been slightly impressed by Bryson's display. It was an interesting power that much was sure, and as he thought about it, it seemed to explain some of his odder tendencies. Like the talking to himself for instance. Shrugging, he turned as the professor began to list off the names for groups. He grimaced slightly as he found that he and Sophie would be paired up, and rolled his eyes at her protests, scoffing at her hypocrisy.

He walked over to join them, a smirk on his face. "Come on, Soph. I haven't proven anything about not wanting to work together. You however, did set me on fire. Just a thought," he said, turning away from her before she could even respond. He looked to the professor next, as the two newbies came running in. "If I must be in a group with She Who Will Not Be Named, can I at least have one of the late kids with me?" he asked, glancing over at the new arrivals.

Location: The basement
Interacting with: Will @smarty0114

---

---

Sophie visibly flinched at Will's words, then looked down sighed as he approached her and Francis. "I only set your pants on fire because I don't as appreciate it when jerks like you, make fun of others. And my name is Sophie, not 'Soph', so please don't call me that, ok?" She said quietly and the last part with a mostly annoyed tone. She made eye contact with him and sighed again softly, then she too rolled her eyes. "What? Would hitting me back make you feel better? 'cus if so then please go right ahead and get it over with. Or can we please just move on with this?" She offered herself and gestured to for Will to go ahead and get even.

---

---

Location: Basement
Interacting with: Will @smarty0114, Sophie, Peter@Winter Kitten, and Wesley @flightless-angel-castiel

---

---

"Ah yes, Peter and Wesley, so nice of you to finally join us. Try not to make tardiness a habit, won't you?" Francis greeted the two late students with a playful smile and a teasing tone. "We were just getting assigned into our teams. Wesley, you will be in in my group. And Peter, you will be in Lucian's team. But first, why don't you introduce yourselves to the class and give us your codenames, then show us what you can do?"

Francis glanced at Will and Sophie. "I can tell you two are already going to be a handful, but I suppose that taking a third won't be too much more of a challenge. Try not to make this too difficult or it's going to be a long year for all of us." He replied to Will.

Bryson Anderson

Interacting with:
Christie @Royzooka
Location: Xavier's Institute Basement

---

Bryson listened as Francis gave the group their new teams. Grace, Christie, and their leader, Johnny. He looked around the room, trying to spot his teammates. It only now dawned on him that he didn't actually know who the other three members of his team were. Due to his tardiness, he missed the majority of the introductions, which must have included his teammates.

He sat and waited for a minute, hoping that his teammates would come and find him before too long. Unfortunately, it would appear that he would have to be the one to initiate the first conversation. He glanced once more around the room.

We need to find our teammates, Orion. We're looking for Grace, Christie, and... Jeremy? Is that what he said? Bryson asked the two inside his head. He silently thanked whatever higher power for the ability to talk to others inside his head. He wouldn't have lived past the age of 10 if he weren't able to go to Corvus and Orion for guidance.

"Go ask that old man over there if his name is Jeremy! We're sure that is him." Corvus was able to mentally gesture to a man who he assumed was, well, Jeremy.

"You fool," Orion mentally said to Corvus, "That is the professor. Bryson, we know that he is the professor, and we know who Will and Sophie are. That doesn't leave too many more options for our teammates. The odds of finding one of your teammates are in your favor if you approach one of the females."

Bryson, reassured by Orion's confidence, approached who he assumed was Christie. The girl looked only slightly intimidating, with all the piercings scattered around her face, and the long, silver hair. Nevertheless, Bryson offered his hand.

"Our name's Bryson. We're teammates, I think," he said, already forgetting that he had introduced himself to the group only moments earlier.

After her 'little' demonstration, Astrid took a moment to try and calm her thundering heart. It was painful to stand still and focus on her breathing. Everything in her body felt like it was tingling with energy. Which it was but... All the way from her toes to the tips of her fingers. And everywhere she looked, it was to bright and vibrant. It made her want to run around, to sprint as fast as she could. To dance. To grab the closest person to her and throw down and fight. Anything.

A sobering thought came to her as soon as the last left. To dance, to fight, anything with another person, would be a death sentence. She was a walking electric chair of sorts. A high five would be like getting hit by a taser. Astrid felt the leftover energy drain out of her. She might have burned through all the energy she ate in her demonstration, but the adrenaline that had been coursing through her had been enough to make her feel like she was invincible.

Now Astrid was just pissed. Mostly at herself, for acting like such a fool in front of all these people. They probably thought she was some kind of energy junky at this point. Grumbling in her newly minted black mood, she made her way over to one of new teammates. Woohoo. They were 2nd graders all over again. She raised her hand to his shoulder to get his attention, before stopping herself. A painful look in her eyes she carefully put her hand down and look away. "Um... James?" The words came out of her mouth quietly, almost a whisper.

---

---

James jumped as the Professor suddenly silenced the arguments. It seemed the penalty for failure would be severe. Due to his circumstances, failure would not be an option for him. This was all starting to spin out of control. James came here to hide, not fight. Still, he might as well try. What did he have to lose anymore?

Not wanting to step anywhere near the absolute mess that was Sophie and Will, James looked for his group. It seemed he was paired with Lucian, Astrid, and one of the late individuals. He focused on a chair near Lucian, and teleported over. At least, he would have. Until he heard Astrid suddenly behind him. Jumping a bit as he suddenly lost his focus, he turned around to face her."Um, yes. Hi. Hello." he managed to mutter. He took a second to compose himself."I was just wondering what happens now. I imagine we'd be doing more then a simple orientation"

---

Grace looked up at Bryson as he approached her and Christie. He looked nervous. She didn't blame him. Everything seemed so intimidating. "I think we are all in the same group," she said softly. This is going to be one interesting pairing. The shy and unsure paired with the one that doesn't talk.

Looking over her shoulder, she spotted Johnny leaning against the wall. I wonder where he is going to choose for us to practice. He didn't seem to be paying them any attention. She looked back at Christie and Bryson and smiled slightly. "I think this is going to be a fun year."

Watching the argument between Will and Sophie, she winced. She felt a little sorry for Sophie because she seemed like a really sweet person and didn't deserve to be paired with someone that was being so rude. Grace looked at the Professor in shock when he snapped at Sophie and sighed. "Well, guys, I'm Grace," She said and tucked a loose hair behind her ear.

---

Christie smiled when Lucian made a reference to Medusa who turned people into stone. Clearly Lucian liked the ladies, he was such a flirt and the newbie liked it. Lucian also soon brought up how doubting one's powers were debilitating. "Are you made from a bag of sugar because you are just as sweet? It is nice to know I will grow with other people like me, outside these walls it is a completely different story" the new mutant replied. Her fondness for Grace and Lucian increased somewhat but were yet far from being friends, however, she was sure it would only be a matter of time. "That must mean I am also a psychotic, half-witted, fear inducing young adult, it sounds rather silly when I say it, though," Christie said before Grace spoke up. It seemed Grace was just as reassuring as Lucian was which was a relief for Christie.

When Grace said the following words Christie once again lit up like a Christmas tree. "You can touch them if you want." Christie soon took her left hand and began to reach out though stopped before she touched them, her nails would surely cause some damaged if she touched Graces wonderful wings. Since she could not really control her nails and even imagine the damage she could do she had to think of another way. Her hair was no longer hardened and it looked naturally soft though odd coloured at the same time. "Don't think I am weird Grace, it just safer," Christie said before placing her face against Grace's wing gently. The newbie pulled her hair back just in case something were to happen, this prevented any harm towards Grace aka Typhoon. Her wings were soft as she felt the feather against her face, it was a strange feeling, not a bad one but a good one.

The feeling made Christie feel safe, Grace at this moment had an impact on the newbie. Several feelings washed over L.V, a few of them she had not felt in a long time. Hairdusa felt lost and before she knew it got a little awkward as it seemed she was feeling Grace's wing a little too long. "Huh, sorry about that" she said before blushing partly. By this point, Francis aka Ghost spoke up and it seemed teams had been decided, the newbie was with Grace, a smile crossed her face as she looked at her winged angel, she then looked over to Lucian before saying one final thing to him. "Sorry handsome, looks like me and you aren't on the same team," she said before giving him a wink. At this point, she wondered if she would freak Grace out when she did it to her, it was not something she could hide for too long and most of the time it had no meaning behind it.

Her mind was soon back in focus when she saw one of the other mutants coming over, he seemed to offer his hand as he introduced himself to her. "Hi Bryson, yes we are teammates. I am Christie, though I am sure you heard me earlier. I wonder if this makes us blue team or gold team?" Christie replied. A reference to how the X-Men did things back in the day. She even shook his hand carefully, time to time she could retract her nails enough to not hurt someone but as she was currently untrained she could not do it very much. It seemed she had not hurt him which was good and soon moved her hand away to no one could get hurt, a little paranoia became present. Grace soon spoke up once more, she also reassured they were in the same group and on top of that sounded like Grace was going to and was having fun. Grace also said her name again though all three at this time did so.

Christie was excited to do some training, it would probably be nothing like Wolverine's training, Kitty aka Shadowcat told Christie of the famous assault course and training programmes he had. They had met in the outside world, she wanted her autograph and a chat began and ended when she was called away.

---

"Nah, I'm made of sugar, spice and everything nice." he mocked as he chuckled at Christie's compliment. It was official, he managed to get himself more friends, which was never inherently hard. Lucian assumed he was just personable, people kinda just connected with him, it make things easier, especially when it was a girl.

Turning his attention back on stage, he quietly observed Bryson's, unusual display. Some of theses guys have the craziest powers imaginable. he thought to himself, shaking his head. Lucian prayed that he never get locked in a room with that kid, afraid that he would end up doing so 'Tell-Tale Heart' shit.

Grace thankfully awakened him for his stupor, pulling him from the murky depths if his own mind. " You can feel them too, Lucian, if you're interested in how they feel." she mumbled shyly. With a request like that, how could he say no. Christie already found herself drunk with its apparent softness, rubbing on it with her face. Lucian took this opportunity to touch her wings also, feeling it with the palms of his hands, it felt soft and slippery. "I could sleep on these there so soft." Lucian chuckled as he continued to touch them.

Lucian only stopped when James teleported to the seat next to him, interrupting the moment. Remembering that he had a team to lead, Lucian sighed and let go of Grace's wings. Lucian waved as Christie and Grace left, smiling at them both, grinning even more after Christie winked. "That doesn't stop he from seeing you later, beautiful. he coed.

With that out of the way, Lucian turned to James who seemed to be be thinking out loud to himself, Lucian couldn't tell, he was muttering. "Way more than orientation, I'll be teaching you to better control your power, and get an acute understanding of others." Lucian explained simply before turning to look for the rest of his team. "Astrid, Peter!" Lucian called signaling at the two. Teacher huh, he liked the sound of that.

---

---

"Oh dear G-d. That got... Outta hand." Raylan said as he rubbed his jaw, no doubt from a fight he couldn't remember. It took him more than a few minutes to get his head together. As he moved himself against the nearest wall. He pulled out what remained from his pack of cigarettes and lit one. After taking a deep drag, he tried to put the events of last night together. It was only supposed to be one beer, but then things got out of hand. One was too many, but one more wasn't enough for him. 

He checked his pockets to see what was left. He somehow had all the money he had left with. Either he had skipped out on his tabbed or however long he played for paid for all his drinks last night. Either way his guitar wasn't with him. 

He slowly got his feet, the effects of night before were still very real. Each step was as drunk as the last. He forced himself to walk as best he could till the back door of the bar was in reach. He tried to open it, only find it was locked. Raylan thought to use his powers to open the door but decided against. As turned to leave the door opened and out step the bar keep. 

She was an attractive woman in her mid twenty, blond, with form fitting clothing. 
"Raylan? You look like hell." She said not at all surprised. "Guess the numbers game got the better of you, eh?"

" I guess. How many were there?" Raylan said with slightly slurred speech. 

She laughed before speaking. "There were four of them Raylan. One got away alright but the other three aren't gonna be doing a lot for awhile. You sure you're okay?"

" Yeah, I'm good. You got my guitar?" Raylan asked doing what he could to get the focus off his well being. 
"Yeah we got behind the bar. Put your tab on the ones you got into it with. You need a ride?"

"I could use one. Institute just outside of town."Raylan said looking at her with sad defeated eyes.

"Alright, give me a few minutes." She said with a sigh.

Raylan slowly staggered to her car, he leaned against it and continued smoking. That's when he realized, the sun had only just started to come up. He just might make it back before anyone woke up. Although, he had no doubt he was gonna get an earful from Old Man Ghost and the others. 

As the bar keep came out she looked at Raylan for moment before saying anything. "You know, I've known you over a year and I don't know of a thing about you. Just that you live at that creepy Institute. You seem like a time bomb waiting to go off." She said with a slightest hint of fear. The situation she was about to get into finally hitting her.

"You got nothing to worry about. I just... Wanna get to the Institute without getting into trouble." Raylan said halfway willing to walk at this point.

"Alright... Hop in."

The ride was silent. Raylan didn't really have a need to say anything. It almost made the bartender more nervous. When the pulled up to the front gate. Raylan thanked her and left a twenty for the ride. As she pulled away, Raylan made his way passed the gate and straight to the kitchen he went.

When he was done cleaning up after himself. He knew the reasonable thing to do was to head down to the basement and get ready for the day. That was the reasonable and responsible thing to do. Even knowing that, it wasn't what the going to do.

The stench of alcohol was gonna be on him. There was nothing he could do about it. The only thing he could do was get cleaned up and try not look like he had been on the bender the just got off of. As he looked into the mirror he could see the bruises start to form. The trophies of last night's battle. He looked terrible, but it wasn't the worst he ever looked.

With a deep sigh, Raylan knew it was time to face the music. He made his way down to the towards the basement. With each step a voice in the back of head told him to run. To just turn around and go to sleep. Before this was over he was gonna wish he had listen.

Another cigarette and cup of coffee later. He was finally ready. He had brought a fresh cup with him when he entered the range. As he entered the range he waved at everyone. "Morning. Sorry I'm late Frank, I Uh, got distracted." That was going to be his only excuse.