Massachusetts Academy II

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Mir
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Re: Massachusetts Academy II

Post by Mir »

What in the fuck was going on?

Drake couldn’t see anything, and he couldn’t touch anything either. Nothing. It was like he’d been plunged into a world of darkness. He flailed around, but he couldn’t touch anything. He couldn’t even feel the air moving between his fingers, even though he knew that he should. Drake’s movements were slow and sluggish, at least to him, but to everyone watching him, he was moving very quickly, trying to figure out what was happening to him. Suddenly, he felt shooting pain on his arm. No, not on his arm, in his arm. He couldn’t feel the scratches, but his nerves were still going off.

Yanking his arm backwards, he fired a blast of energy in the vague direction that the attack had come from. At least, in the direction that he had thought that it had come from. Then the scratching happened again, on his other arm. So he fired a blast in that direction. The scratches kept coming and he kept firing off what he could. But nothing seemed to be working.

This was starting to piss him the hell off. Drake hated not being able to see what was going on around him. So he figured since he wasn’t hitting that annoying little girl when he tried to aim, then it made sense to try to hit everything at once and see what happened. It was a better plan than the one that he was doing now. So he pushed outwards with the energy that was inside of him, creating a bubble that expanded outwards, rapidly. An almost instantaneous thing, he let loose with almost everything he had.

Then he could see again. He wasn’t sure how it had happened, until he saw Samantha Martin lying on the ground, trying to get up. When he’d fired off that bubble, he had probably hit her, breaking her concentration on keeping him in the sea of darkness. He smiled as he started running towards her.

This was going to be fun.

A few moments later, Alec spoke. “Drake advances.”
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Re: Massachusetts Academy II

Post by RCCrow »

“Oh, this sucks.” Rose said, closing her eyes. She was never going to hear the end of it. She’d pulled her sleeves out and was using her hands to clutch at the material. Sitting down in the bleachers, she set her head in her hands. Maybe getting premonitions was a budding power of hers, because she’d had a feeling that Leland was going to come and sit next to her before it happened. No, that couldn’t be it, because if she did have premonition powers, why hadn’t she seen this coming?

“Sooo…wanna talk about it?” Leland asked.

“Talk about what?” Rose said, her face still in her hands.

“Flutterby!” Minnie Martin said, walking up and turning into a cat and curling up in Leland’s lap.

“Talk about the two finalists? How they’re roommates and don’t really like each other? How they’re your best friends here at the school?” Leland asked, petting Minnie’s head, as the little cat purred contentedly. “I mean, it does seem like a big deal.”

“Leland, you’re not a shrink.” Rose said, lifting her head and looking at the girl. She glared slightly, though she knew that what she was feeling was not Leland’s fault. Though the girl was decidedly not helping matters.

“But I know stuff.” Leland replied, as if that explained and made up for everything. She even threw in a shrug and lifted her arms for emphasis.

“Yes you do. Why couldn’t you tell me that this was going to happen?”

“You know why. I tell people things and boom, I die. But it’s nice knowing things. I can suggest things to people.” Leland said, with a sigh. “I mean, we were in Boston and you made that joke about Phineas and Ferb with Nikhil, remember?” She asked.

“Yeah, and then Drake said something to him.”

“Nikhil said he wanted to punch him for it, and I told him that I was sure he would.” Leland said with a self-satisfied smile. “You guys just have to listen.”

Rose paused. “Holy crap, you did. Well, start talking, I’m listening.”

“I’ll just ask you a question.” Leland said, rising and shifting Minnie so that she was carrying the cat. “Who would you be sadder for, if they lost, Drake or Nikhil?”

Before Rose could answer, Leland started to walk away.
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Mir
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Re: Massachusetts Academy II

Post by Mir »

Alec walked over to where Nikhil was sitting, staring at the ground, and drinking from a bottle of Gatorade. He had a few field hands setting up some reinforcements and shock nets to absorb excess energy, as the finals of the competition was set up. He crouched next to Nikhil, and waited until the Indian kid’s eyes rose to meet his own.

“How you feeling?” He asked.

“I’ve been better.” Nikhil replied. “This was a mistake.” He said. “I didn’t even really want to be in this field day thing. I mean, I’m not very athletic. I’m not very strong or anything like that. Drake is one of the biggest kids in the school. And the most athletic. He’s the perfect mixture of jock and rebel.” Nikhil said.

“Kid, you’re in the situation. You don’t have a time machine.” Alec said. “Nothing you can do about it, but to face down what’s in front of you. Whatever your reason was for signing up for this competition, did you think that you were going to make it this far?” He asked. When Nikhil shook his head, Alec nodded his own. “See? You doubt yourself and you’re never going to be able to do anything. But you trust your instincts and trust what’s happening around you and you will.”

He rose and walked away, leaving Nikhil alone with his thoughts as he got ready for the upcoming match.

Alec walked over to where Sam was, sitting down with an ice pack. “Hey, midget.” He said. “How are you feeling?” He asked.

“Sore.” Sam replied. “That hurt.”

“It was supposed to.” Alec said. He reached a hand out and ruffled Sam’s hair. “You did good today. Expert use of your powers and you really tried to get into the head of your opponents. I liked it, definitely.”

“You did?” She asked, looking up with a smile.

He nodded. “Absolutely. Few things I’ll teach you about this kind of stuff though.” He said, referring to when she came and “annoyed” him when he was trying to get work done, usually just complaining about Mara. “Where’s your sister?” He asked.

“Minnie got scared, so she went to find Leland.” Sam said. “Mara is looking for Sean, I think.” She said.

“Your sister isn’t here to help you?” Alec asked and Sam shrugged. “That was a good trick you pulled on Wright though, I have to say.” He said.

She grinned, her ears twitching in the process, almost as if she were in her cat form.

“I know.”
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Mir
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Re: Massachusetts Academy II

Post by Mir »

For the majority of the kids who went to Massachusetts’ Academy, they understood that the field day was quickly moving away from a friendly sporting event. Not when it was the two boys who were the finalists. Nikhil Patel and Charles Drake Durant were roommates. Most of the time they didn’t really get along. The only person who kept them from fighting all the time was Rose Decker. It was laughable in some regard. On one hand, you had Nikhil, the perennial bookworm, who was always studying and always learning. The last person you’d expect to be involved in something like this. On the other hand, you had Drake, who had been a jock before he came to MA, and had continued to dominate sports. He was also the school’s rebel, prone to pranks and being outspoken against the rules.

Their personalities were close to being polar opposites. The last time they’d been competitive against each other had been during a pick up game of soccer. That hadn’t ended the way that Nikhil had wanted it to, and Drake hadn’t let him forget it for weeks.

Now Nikhil had a shot at redemption, on a far grander stage as well.

The two boys were looking at each other from across the field.

“I hope your ready for this, Nicky.” Drake said, a smile on his face. “It’s not going to be nice and pleasant, I can promise you.” He added, sparks of energy emanating from his closed fists.

Nikhil didn’t reply, he just looked out at Drake, and drew in a deep breath. This was something that he had been waiting for, for months. To get a chance to finally hit back against the guy who made fun of him a lot and was sarcastic, even if he said he was joking? It was going to be a Godsend.

Alec shook his head slowly and looked at Alessandra. It was just their luck that it had come down to these two.

He signaled that the match should start.

Then all hell broke loose.
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Mir
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Re: Massachusetts Academy II

Post by Mir »

The two boys were incredibly strong when it came to their power levels. Nikhil and Drake’s powers both were founded on the same general idea. They both could absorb and manipulate energy. The way their cells did it was different; no two energy-based mutants accessed their powers the same way, in the same vein, as telepathy was different for each mutant telepath. They accessed their powers through different means, but with the same result.

There powers were similar, but there was the key difference between the two of them. The key difference was what they could do with the powers.

Nikhil was the one who had better control. He was by far more about how to use finesse, between the two of them. That was something that he had concentrated on, and worked one on one with Dr. Santiago with, from time to time. It was very much like the boy himself. He tried to be low key, and not show off. He always wanted to keep things simple, while maintaining a systematic knowledge of what was going on. He was definitely the most detailed when a comparison was drawn between him and Drake. For Nikhil, a careful and concentrated application of power was far better than shock and awe.

Shock and awe on the other hand, was what Drake excelled at. His style was definitely the loud mouth, the one who was heard above all the noise.

The red blast of energy that streaked towards Nikhil was huge, comical even. Nikhil had an attack of his own, a web of smaller beams that encompassed Drake’s own, surrounding it as they shot towards the other boy. There was a loud bang as Drake’s attack hit against Nikhil’s shield, a relatively invisible wall of energy that surrounded him. There was a series of bangs as Nikhil’s attacks hit Drake’s shield.

Stalemate, and that was how it was going to keep going, until one of them tried something different.
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Re: Massachusetts Academy II

Post by peayitforward »

“Dad, I’m fine.” Audrey said, wincing slightly as she got off the bed.

“We talked about this, Audrey.” Vincent Reeve said, looking down at his daughter, with a look that showed that he wasn’t very happy with what had happened. “I’m not angry, I’m more disappointed.” He said.

“Dad, we’re daredevils.” Audrey said, looking up at him. “It’s in the family’s blood.”

“I know. But you don’t have the same wherewithal to survive things the way that I do.” He replied. He shook his head and reached out, pulling his daughter into a hug. “I lost your mother, and I don’t want to lose you.” The man said. “The world that you live in is more dangerous than you think. It’s not all snowboarding accidents, my dear.” He said.

Audrey leaned back, and looked up at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?” She asked, confused.

“Nothing, I…I only want you to be my little girl for a little while longer, that’s all.”
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Mir
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Re: Massachusetts Academy II

Post by Mir »

The two boys had continued their fight, past the first round and into the second. Both were still stubbornly trying to overpower the other, and neither was able to best their counterpart. Nikhil was sweating and breathing hard, looking between the emptiness between him and Drake at the other guy. Drake wasn’t breathing as heavily, but there was the same determination in his eyes that Nikhil had. Neither of them wanted to back down, because it was more than just this field day match. This was tension between the two of them that had been simmering for months now.

Suddenly, Drake smiled, and started running forward. He realized that he had been going about this quite wrongly. Nikhil was stronger than he was, when it came his ability to use energy. Drake’s counter was that he could absorb energy, at a much better rate than Nikhil, and with better efficiency. But that meant that the two of them were mainly deadlocked. There was no way for Drake to beat the other boy. Not through the shock and awe that he had been trying for.

Nikhil’s control over his own attacks, his style of finesse, it was not going to get him the win either.

So Drake had to improvise. They had other talents, besides their mutant powers. That was where Drake had the decided edge. Drake was an athlete, the school’s best jock. His level of endurance and cardio far outstripped Nikhil. They’d played soccer on opposing teams not too long ago, and Drake remembered that Nikhil didn’t have the endurance to match up to his own.

In order to win, Drake was going to have to get ugly; he was going to have to push Nikhil to his breaking point. If there was one thing that Drake loved, it was winning.
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Re: Massachusetts Academy II

Post by Mir »

Nikhil’s eyes took in the sight of Drake running towards him. This wasn’t good. This was very not good. There were a number of things that Drake had him beat on in this world. Physical fitness was one of them. Stumbling backwards, the Nikhil tried a stream of energy, designed to overwhelm and slow down Drake. At least that was what he hoped was going to happen. Unfortunately it wasn’t.

The other boy simply jumped over the low aimed attack and while in the air, summoned a ball of his own energy, throwing the red dodge ball sized globe of energy at Nikhil. His opponent’s eyes widened and he dove out of the way, a crater appearing where he had been. Sliding on the ground, Drake twisted, getting up off the ground. To him it was as if he’d gone up for a catch in football, it was only temporary pain to get over.

The Indian boy scrambled, throwing a small wall up, as Drake came towards him. Drake countered, by surrounding himself in a layer of energy and slamming into Nikhil’s wall, shattering it.

They were less than a few yards away from each other at this point, with Nikhil still partially on the ground. Nikhil shot a few small shots at Drake, who took the hits in his right shoulder, slowing him down. It allowed Nikhil to scramble a bit further backwards and raise himself to an upright position. This put him in the perfect position for Drake’s football tackle that brought both boys down to the ground. However, Nikhil was fortunate enough to try to use his foe’s momentum against him, and Drake was thrown a few feet away from him.

Drake was up on his feet first and he brought his foot directly into Nikhil’s midsection. Nikhil winced, but had the wherewithal that, when Drake tried it again, he grabbed Drake’s foot and yanked forward, tripping Drake over him.

He moved back and got up, looking at Drake. “I’m not going down without a fight.” He said.

Drake just started laughing, as he rose to all fours.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less of you, Nicky.”
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Re: Massachusetts Academy II

Post by Mir »

A fist fight was not something that Nikhil could win. But it was what he was embroiled in now. His opponent was baiting him, and he knew it. But knowing it didn’t mean that Nikhil could stop from responding to it. He hated that nickname and Drake knew it. It was the main reason why he used it. Nikhil knew that he shouldn’t get angry, that keeping a cool head was what he needed. It was what Mr. Partridge was always stressing, wasn’t it? The way to win a fight was to not be the guy who lost their cool.

“What’s the matter, Nicky, little too much for ya?” Drake asked, with a smug smile, as his fist connected with Nikhil’s jaw. “You’re not going to cry are ya? I mean, if you are, make sure Rose doesn’t see. She doesn’t like little crybabies.” He said, taking another step forward.

Suddenly, Drake found himself overwhelmed by an angry Nikhil.

“I told you….not to….call me that!” Nikhil said, his anger getting the best of him, punctuating each part of the sentence with a punch in Drake’s direction. Not all of them connected, but the ones that did sent the other boy reeling.

Drake knew that he’d gotten to his roommate and reached out, grabbing Nikhil’s forearms and yanking, pulling the boy off balance and making him stumble. As he did that, he threw his weight into Nikhil’s side, knocking the boy to the ground. He lashed out, ignoring the pain to his knuckles as he hit Nikhil in the back of the head. Then he took a few steps back, and his foot started to glow red, imbued with energy.

Nikhil slowly rose to all fours, shaking his head, trying to shake the cobwebs.

“Nothing personal, buddy. I hate losing.” He said, and rushed forward, his foot connecting with the side of Nikhil’s head.

It took a few moments for everyone to see, but Alec saw it and brought the microphone up.

“Drake wins the final match.”
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Re: Massachusetts Academy II

Post by RCCrow »

“Oh my God, are you okay?”

Thalia turned to see Rose rushing past her and into the medical tent that had been set up for the field day contestants. Everything would be alright, she had just been in there, checking on Nikhil herself. Turning back, she saw Jacob and walked up to him. “You did well.” She said.

“Thanks.” The six foot seven inch guy said, smiling down at her with his rock visage. “I didn’t come out on top, but Nikhil sure packs a punch when he wants to.” He said and she nodded.

Thalia and Jacob walked over to one of the food stands where the kids were able to get hot dogs and hamburgers and other assorted food, and she saw Emerson there, nursing a black eye. “Emerson, how are you?” She asked.

“I’m alright.” Emerson said, turning and holding up a small bag of ice. “Nothing too terrible. I’ll live. How about you, big guy?” She asked, smacking Jacob on the arm.

Since that was more than he was used to, especially since his mutation had developed, Jacob was probably reminding himself that he was in a place where everyone was like him, and everyone accepted everyone else. He hadn’t found that back in Texas, and it was one of the reasons why he was glad that he was at Massachusetts’ Academy now.

“Like I told Thalia, Nikhil packs a punch.”

“Hey, I lost to him too. Don’t sweat it.” She said with a smile. “Hell of a mandatory fun day though, I gotta admit. They should do something like this every couple months. First high school I’ve ever been to that lets the students beat up on each other.”

Thalia closed her eyes for a moment, remembering Emerson’s background. Not everyone came from the same pacifist background that she did, and her parents had always raised her that even if someone had different views than her, she needed to try to accept that and understand their right to believe in what they wanted to.

“Not too often, I hope.” She said, and Emerson nodded slowly.
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Re: Massachusetts Academy II

Post by Mir »

“How are you feeling?” Rose asked, as she walked into the medical room.

Nikhil and Drake were both sitting on tables, being looked at by some of the school’s medical staff. Both of the young men were eyeing each other, and it looked as though there were still some hard feelings between them over the fight. She could see it on their faces, and she knew that a whole new fight could easily break out.

“I’m fine.” Nikhil said. He looked over at Drake and the two shared a rather interesting look. Nikhil had multiple bruises forming on his face, and she couldn’t see the rest of him due to his clothes. Drake had similar bruises, but not as extensive as the other.

“That’s good.” She said, and turned. “You’re fine.” She said. “You wouldn’t tell me if you weren’t anyway.”

“That’s true.” Drake said, with a shrug. He got up off the table and started walking out.

One of the nurses reached out to stop him, but he shook his head and gestured her away. Continuing to walk, he slowly limped out of the room, not giving anyone else a look or glance.

Nikhil’s face was a mask of determination as he too attempted to get up off the table. But as he did, one of his legs buckled, and he dropped towards the ground. Rose lurched forward, but she was unable to catch him. Luckily, one of his arms broke his fall, and he slowly rose up.

“Nick, you’re hurt.” Rose said, stepping forward, but his hand came up.

“I can do anything he can do.” Nikhil said, shaking his head as he finished the motion and stood up.

“I know.” She said, reaching a hand out and gingerly touching her friend on the arm. “But that doesn’t mean you have to.” She added. “It’s one thing to be strong or get through a lot, but it’s something else to know when you need help.”

He nodded. “I’m aware of that.” He said. Pausing, he looked down at the ground. “I’ll rest.”

“Thank you.”
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Re: Massachusetts Academy II

Post by RCCrow »

Life had returned to normal at Massachusetts’ Academy, a few days after the Field Day Event. Well, at least as normal as it could be in a school full of mutants. Most of the school was still buzzing about the finals match, between Nikhil Patel and Drake Durant. But more than that, they were buzzing about the fact that the rumors were that the two roommates were now on even worse terms than they had been before. Rose was usually able to keep the peace and she was friends with both of them, which made it that much more difficult for her. But for Samantha Davis Martin, she didn’t have to worry about the same things as the most popular girl in the school.

Rose and her posse were her own problem. Samantha’s biggest problem was being careful while she walked. For lying curled up on her backpack, was her sister, Minerva Martin, in her cat form. Minnie’s eyes were open and she was looking around. Had her sister been sleeping, Sam would have been damn near tip toeing. Sam was dressed in her usual black attire, while her sister walking alongside her, Mara, was resplendent in her color.

Color was weird sometimes for Sam.

The three Martin triplets walked through the hallways, and Sam’s head was starting to pound. She turned to Mara.

“Please stop thinking about your boytoy.” She said.

“Oh, right, sorry.” Mara said.

As if on cue, Sean walked around a corner on the opposite end of the hallway, with Laurence. The two best friends were laughing about something as they walked, and Sean caught Mara’s eye. Sam sighed as the two groups met in the middle.

“Hey, Mara.” Sean said. His eyes caught Sam’s and the two shared a mutual look of understanding. Ever since their match, Sam had started to warm up to Sean. She didn’t think of him the way that Mara did, that was just gross. But she was alright with him around now.

Beat up on a guy and then you two become good friends. It was one of the secrets of life.

“Hi.” Mara said, doing a little wave. “Um, what are you guys up to?” She asked.

“Mutation. Professor Reeve.” Laurence said. “Total bore, that guy. You’d think they’d try to get professors who’d try to let us use our powers in a class about our powers, you know?” He said.

“Professor Alessandra is more hands on.” Sam said. “Speaking of which, I’m going to be late for my self-defense class with Alec.” She said. “Mara, I need you to take Minnie.” She said, and Mara nodded, reaching onto her sister’s backpack to pick up their sister. Minnie just let herself be cuddled and held in her sister’s arms, as Sam walked away, purring as she watched her sister leave.

“Where are you headed now?” Sean asked.

“I figured I’d grab some food and then I probably should study for Dr. Grant’s biology test tomorrow.”

“Oh, let’s not talk about that biology test.” Sean said with a smile. “We should probably study too. We’ll go with you and study together.” He said, and looked at Laurence, who nodded.

“Yeah. Might as well stick with the smartest in the class if we’re going to study for this thing.” Laurence said with a shrug. “Lead the way, Mara.”


<->

“Hey there, old man.” Sam said, as she walked into the gym.

Alec Partridge was already in workout clothes and was pounding away at a reinforced punching bag. He smirked, though his back was to Sam.

“Let me ask you a question, kid.” Alec said, turning and looking at her. “What do you think about teams?” He asked.
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Re: Massachusetts Academy II

Post by peayitforward »

Her backpack was open and she stuffed some books into the bag. Aubrey was a little peeved at the moment, and she didn’t care who knew. One of the main reasons why she had a good relationship with her father was that he didn’t treat her like a little kid, but as a grown adult, an equal. That was the deal and it was the way that things had worked after her mother’s death. After all, when your mother died when you were little, thanks to a serial killer, it was kind of in your best interest to grow up quickly. Aubrey and her father had had another argument the night prior.

They had been dancing around the fact that she had gone against his wishes and entered the field day competition. He had asked her not to enter, and though she didn’t always listen to her father, nor was she under any obligation to do so, Aubrey had understood that it had been important to him for her not to enter the field day. She had felt guilty doing it, but at the same time, the way that things worked was that she wasn’t under an obligation to listen to him. So when he’d finally brought it up again, and had done so in a way that wasn’t entirely pleasant, Aubrey had responded in a manner that he hadn’t expected.

Which was the reason why she was now upset. Not just because of the argument, but because of the way in which they had argued, and how she’d spoken to him. He wouldn’t tell her why he hadn’t wanted her to be in the field day, and that was a problem. She didn’t hide things from her father. Aubrey had told him the first time she’d had alcohol without him around, and the first time that she had smoked pot.

He had spoken to her the first time he had developed feelings for a woman that was not her mother. They were open like that.

Her father had always told her that she thought millions of brilliant thoughts per second, but right now, most of them were kind of self-loathing at the moment. She turned when she was tapped on the arm. Aubrey forced a smile on her face for the fellow student. “Hey there Leland.”

“Haven’t you heard, Minnie calls me ‘Flutterby’.”

“I didn’t think we have code names.” Aubrey said and Leland paused and thought about it for a second or two.

“Well, she does call Mara ‘White Paws’, so we may have codenames, at least to her. But let’s talk about you.” Leland said and started walking, making Aubrey hurry up to catch up. “You’re worried that your relationship with your father has been falling apart ever since you guys moved from England to America.” She said.

“That’s…spooky. I’m the telepath.” Aubrey said.

“Rose says that too.” Leland replied, waving her hand as if that would magically make Aubrey's concerns go away. “I don’t think you should worry about it. After all, you shouldn’t worry about things that you’re working hard to make better, right? You’re already doing your best.” She said. “You should worry about the other stuff.”

“What other stuff, Leland?”

“Stuff stuff. Later gator.” Leland replied and disappeared down a flight of stairs.
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Re: Massachusetts Academy II

Post by Ninzi »

It was raining and Jacob was sitting outside. The weather mirrored the boy’s mood, as he was not very happy at the moment. Jacob had been brought to Massachusetts’ Academy after he had gotten in trouble back home in Austin, Texas. His mutation had surfaced while he had been playing a pick up game of football and he had inadvertently killed one of his best friends. The State of Texas had opted to send him to Massachusetts’ Academy, declaring that the death had been accidental. But that didn’t stop his best friend’s family from thinking what they thought.

He sat in the rain, because he had received a letter from his friend’s mother, telling him that he was a freak and that he was a spawn of the devil and going to hell. It wasn’t anything that he hadn’t heard people say about mutants before. But it was different coming from a woman who had helped raise him since he had been a baby. Jacob didn’t know what to do, and the teenage boy who was a little over six feet and seven inches stared at his huge, rock hands. He couldn’t imagine the hatred that she felt for him, though he understood that he had accidentally robbed her of her son.

Accidentally. Jacob had to remember that. He had to, because otherwise, he was going to lose it. Anger management classes had been helping him, the one on one time that he had with Dr. Santiago starting the healing process. She had told him that it would take time, but these things didn’t help.

“Everything okay?”

He turned to see Thalia walking towards him. Where she walked, in a small radius around her, no rain fell. The mutant girl’s powers were rooted in elementalism, after all.

Jacob shook his head. “Got a letter today. From the mom of the boy who died when my powers took over.” He said.

She nodded, sitting down next to him. “You can’t let it get to you.”

“I’m trying not to.” Jacob said, looking at her.

“Or, you could let it get to you.” Someone said, and both turned to see Joseph Medina leaning against one of the openings of the small courtyard.

“I’m sorry?” Jacob asked, as Thalia’s mouth, usually in a smile, became tightly thinned.

“Let it get to you.” Joseph said. He was wearing his usual attire of leather pants and biker jacket. He usually went around shirtless and today was no different, giving both kids ample view of the tattoos that covered his body. “Think about it man, people hate us. They’re always going to hate us.” He said. “You might as well get used to it. Use it. Make it your own.”

“I don’t think that that’s the right way to go about dealing with people who are bigots.” Thalia said, shaking her head. “That’s stooping to their level.” She said, as the rain started to let up.

In response, Joseph threw back his head and started laughing.
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Re: Massachusetts Academy II

Post by Mir »

“Stooping to their level?” Medina repeated as he walked out into the large atrium like area that the other two were in. “Please. We’re talking about people who would be willing to kill us, because we’re different.” He said. “Stooping to their level gets the point across, that we won’t be messed with, and we won’t be treated like animals.”

“I think the way you and I treat animals are very different.” Thalia replied. “You’re mistaking violent results for actual effectiveness, which isn't the case.” She said.

“Violent results are effective. It gets the job done.” He replied.

“It only breeds more anger and distrust between the two groups involved.” Thalia said, as other students, passing by, started to stop and listen to what the two were saying. “What kind of a world would we have if people settled their disagreements by shooting each other?” She asked.

“What kind of a world…We already live in that kind of world.” Medina said, shaking his head at her in disbelief. “If I hate black people, I can buy a gun and walk around shooting them. In a church, if I wanted to, for that matter. We already live in that kind of world, and denying it is being stupid.” He said.

“Don’t call her stupid.” Jacob said, rising from his seat rather angrily.

“Hey there, big guy, calm down. Your girlfriend just needs a dose of the truth.” He said. “If they’re willing to use guns against us and treat us like filth, then we have a right to defend ourselves against that, and use our powers.” He said. Medina looked around and realized that he had an audience now, so he raised his voice, looking at some of the different students. “They don’t have powers. They go out and buy guns, they get weapons and then kill mutants with them.” He said. “We’re sitting here like that’s not something that happens in Boston, less than a few miles away, or anywhere around the country. It’s disgusting that we’re sitting here doing nothing when people are getting killed just for being different.”

“So what would you do, since you think that you have all the answers, Joseph?” Thalia asked.
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Re: Massachusetts Academy II

Post by RCCrow »

Sam’s eyes widened as she gave Alec a curious look. “I don’t…know.” She said. “You’ve always said that you have to count on yourself since other people will fail you.” She said.

He nodded. “That’s what I said. I also said not to let the lug nuts be loose on the wheels of the car we were working on the other day. You didn’t listen to that either.” He said and she gave him an innocent grin. It stretched from ear to ear and it almost made him chuckle. Kid had talent at that. Usually only Alessandra could get him to do that. “Seriously, kid, what do you think?” He asked.

“Teams can be fun. Like in sports, which are…gross, but fun, I guess, in like a gross fun kind of way.” She said. “I don’t know what you’re talking about though. What kind of a team?” Samantha asked, jumping up onto a table, as Alec continued to punch the bag. “Like a sports team?” She asked.

“No, not like a sports team.” Alec replied, giving the bag one more solid punch. “This is definitely not like a sports team. Some of you guys have powers that can be used in very constructive ways, to put it lightly, and some of the staff want to teach you guys how to use them in ways that aren’t destructive. See where I’m going here?” He asked.

She scrunched up her face. “You know you’re describing Mutation 101. Have you…have you read the syllabus of this place?” She asked.

“Drop the snark, Sam.” Alec said, reaching for and grabbing a towel. He wiped his face and leaned against a wall so that they were facing each other. “I’m talking about a team that can go and do things, help people, stop people who would hurt mutants, and show everyone that it’s not a bad thing to be a mutant. We don’t have to be hunted.” He said. “What do you think about that?” He asked.

<->

“Well?” Thalia asked, since Joseph hadn’t responded.

“I would show people that we don’t have to be hunted.” Joseph said, and made a fist. He brought the fist into his other hand, making a thwacking sound as the rain finally let up. “I would show them that we don’t have to be hunted because if they hunt us, we’ll hunt them back. There may be more of them than there are of us, but we’re stronger.” He said. “We’re stronger and we’re better. We’re called Homo Superior for a reason.”

She rolled her eyes. “I suppose you have a ‘Magneto was Right’ shirt stashed somewhere.” She said and he nodded.

“Old Mags had a point. I don’t want to have to look over my shoulder all the time because I know the bullet is coming. That’s not how people are supposed to live their lives.” He said, raising his voice higher, due to the audience. He looked around at the students and knew that no matter how they felt on the issue, he had them in the palm of his hands. Everyone was listening to him and everyone was paying attention. It was exactly what he wanted.

“Your solution is to fire the bullet first, so to speak.” A girl’s voice said and he turned to see Rose Decker walking out into the atrium, with Drake behind her.

Of course. Massachusetts Academy’s most popular student.

“Exactly.” Joseph said, snapping his fingers. “Why shouldn’t we stand up for ourselves?” He asked.

“Because what you want is against the law.” She said, shaking her head.
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Re: Massachusetts Academy II

Post by Ghost »

Autumn sighed heavily as she lay in her bed and stared at the book – a bit lazy and almost casually, she swiped to the next page and began skimming through the page, line by line. It was a good read, but it wasn’t what she was expecting her day to end like this. With a heavy sigh, she rose out of her bed and made her way down the hallway, clinging to her book. Her amber colored orbs stared down at the hardwood floors before coming up to look at the group of her peers gathered up ahead.

For a moment, hesitation built up her chest causing her to stop abruptly but then somewhere within the deep recesses of her mind – courage struck and she strode forward casually. She wasn’t some Rose Decker, not here atleast. Here, she was just some quiet country girl from out West that no one really knew. She didn’t participate much in Field Day activities, she felt out of place and a bit uncomfortable with everything. Her powers and everything that had transpired within the past few months.

She caught the tail end of the conversation – and with a bit of confusion in her voice, she managed to find the words as well as the courage to interject.
“Why would anyone wanna shoot a bullet at us?” She tilted her head slightly before looking at Rose.

“And why would we wanna break the law?” She said with a slight accent in her voice. It was unique needless to say, given her mother was from England and her father from the western front of Montana. It was odd having a slight London accent and being from Montana. Happens usually when your parents are from completely opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of where they came from.
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Re: Massachusetts Academy II

Post by Ghost »

Autumn sighed heavily as she lay in her bed and stared at the book – a bit lazy and almost casually, she swiped to the next page and began skimming through the page, line by line. It was a good read, but it wasn’t what she was expecting her day to end like this. With a heavy sigh, she rose out of her bed and made her way down the hallway, clinging to her book. Her amber colored orbs stared down at the hardwood floors before coming up to look at the group of her peers gathered up ahead.

For a moment, hesitation built up her chest causing her to stop abruptly but then somewhere within the deep recesses of her mind – courage struck and she strode forward casually. She wasn’t some Rose Decker, not here atleast. Here, she was just some quiet country girl from out West that no one really knew. She didn’t participate much in Field Day activities, she felt out of place and a bit uncomfortable with everything. Her powers and everything that had transpired within the past few months.

She caught the tail end of the conversation – and with a bit of confusion in her voice, she managed to find the words as well as the courage to interject.
“Why would anyone wanna shoot a bullet at us?” She tilted her head slightly before looking at Rose.

“And why would we wanna break the law?” She said with a slight accent in her voice. It was unique needless to say, given her mother was from England and her father from the western front of Montana. It was odd having a slight London accent and being from Montana. Happens usually when your parents are from completely opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of where they came from.
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Re: Massachusetts Academy II

Post by Nichalus »

Leland walked away from Aubrey with a small smile on her face, and then entered the campus's Greenhouse area. It was a place of quiet contemplation for her as she gently ran her hands over the various species of plants that the students took great pride to care for. It was a way for them to step away from the concerns about their powers, and concentrate on the normal aspects of life.

Her hand gently grazes a Egyptian Lotus flower, and suddenly her world spirals out of focus, light and darkness spin around her as if she was caught on the event horizon of some great spinning black hole. Light, Time and Realities are all caught by the powerful forces at work.

Leland fought against the tidal urges and found herself staring down the maw of some spatial event, she could see everything, and strangely enough it was if she was being told a lesson in history. A voice was reaching out to her from the enormous spinning maw. A voice that was teacher-like in its presentation, but the images seared into her mind and heart were too horrifying to comprehend.

'Leland...hear me. Listen closely, for you are our only hope... The voice began.

The war against mutant-kind was coming to it's pre-determined crescendo. Everyone knew that there would be no stopping it's devastating finale. For decades humanity fought against mutants, prejudices and pride on both sides refused to work together, come to a compromise.

The mutant's few human supporters, Superman, Captain America, Spider-man and others, fought with their own people against the bias and discrimination that they showed mutants...mutants that had many times over saved the world, and countless billions from from death and destruction from enemies both human and mutant, and in some cases from beings from other worlds and galaxies.

But the prejudices against mutants continued, even grew, as mutant haters blamed the very mutants that saved them, for drawing the attention of the powerful beings that had threatened the Earth's very existence. One by one both human supporters and mutant fell against the rising tide of hatred.

Leading the charge against the mutant scourge was Alexander Burke and his vast armada of Iron Sentinels backed by his technological genius and Alexander's festering hatred of all mutants after his wife Natalia was killed by accident. A accident that was due to a final assault by Magneto attacking New York City, in a bid to make humanity bow to Homo-Superior as the next natural evolutionary step in humanity.

Even Magneto regretted the incident, but he was much too prideful to admit his mistake. In his own mind, Natalia was just another victim of collateral damage that far too many of his brethren and sisters had endured at the hands of the Mutant hating humans jealous of their power, and angered by Mutant-kind stern refusal to allow themselves to be registered and cataloged like so much cattle.

The Academy has been destroyed, along with all the X-Men, and all of mutant-kind. Myself and Erik are all that is left...'

'Charles hurry up!'
Leland heard another man's voice, as if in the background of the man speaking to her.

'I have to have more time Erik.'

'God Dammit Charles! Alex's abominations are almost upon us.'
Erik sighs heavily. 'Very well, I'll try and buy you some time. But get one with it! Show her!!!

Suddenly where the voice ended, the visions began. But her vision begins in orbit around a dark and gloomy world. A world almost barren of any light, its landscape blackened and marred by streaks of brightly glowing molten rivers of lava, lava spewing from enormous volcanoes that dotted the surface of this alien world. Leland could see that the vast oceans of this world were literally boiling from some enormous heat coming from under its rolling waters.

Suddenly, as if she was falling from orbit, Leland began descending through the rolling, steaming clouds, falling ever faster, until the landmass below began to take shape, a shape that she was well familiar to. She gasped as she recognized the East Coast of the United States, though the the entire section where Florida, South Carolina and Georgia was missing, as if they had fallen into the very ocean that surrounded them. For that matter, it looked to her as if every major city across the US had been destroyed in some fiery cataclysmic event that she just couldn't imagine.

Falling closer, she realized that she knew where she was going, zooming in on a location that had become as familiar as her own hands. The Academy, though it was nothing but a broken, smoking pile of rubble and smoke. Her flight didn't stop, and she actually screamed as she neared the ground and threw up her hands as if to ward off the impeding impact. When she opened her eyes she stood on the rusted and bent walkway that stretch out into a dimly lit vast circular room easily several stories in height. There standing at a console was a man that was in his mid-thirties in appearance, but who's face was lined with creases and stress lines that made him look much older. Atop his head was a clear helmet-like device that has multitudes of metal elements that protruded from all around it's shape. the man smiled wearily at Leland.

'Welcome Leland, I'm Charles Xavier.'

Leland's eyes widened at the name. "You mean 'the' Charles Xavier?!"

'Yes. But we don't have time for me to explain the why and how's that you are here. It will have to suffice that I am who I say, and that it is only because of your unique power that I am able to contact you in this fashion. But while I am loathe to use this method and trifle with the Order of Time, we have no choice.'

"You...you mean that this is...this is..." Leland stammered.

'Yes, this is the future. One of many, but this is the future that is directly linked to your own. Your destiny, all of mutant and human-kind's, destiny is linked to the here and now...at least from my perspective.'

"You mean that Burke and Muir...they...they caused all this?"

Just then another man rushed into the room, physically more imposing than Charles's physical size, but his face, like Charles's, was lined with war weary lines and hair that was pre-maturely going a silver-grey at the sides.

'Charles we don't have fucking time to hold her hand and give her the whole song and dance! They are here!'

'I'm sure that by now, you know who that is. Erik Lensherr, whom you most likely know as Magneto.'


Leland's mind was swimming in shock when suddenly the walls of a section of the spherical chamber exploded from some enormous force outside. Charles and Erik were thrown off their feet and laid prone on the floor of the walkway. Leland, while she naturally reacted to the walls coming down around her by cringing backwards, felt nothing and was perplexed.

Charles could see her confusion as he sat up slowly. 'Don't worry Leland, you are only here courtesy of my thoughts. Think of yourself as an astral projection that only myself and Erik can see. Nothing here can harm you.'

'Talking to yourself already Charlie? That's the first signs of senility.'

Hovering through the destroyed wall, two giant Sentinels easily 3 stories in height silently entered the room. Their armor-like chassis colored a crimson and gold, with the distinctive helmet features of Iron Man came to a rest on the floor of the room, but still loomed over them all on the walkway.

Soaring through the hole after the Sentinels came Iron Man, who hovered into position to look down on Charles and Erik from on high. His faceplate flipped up revealing Alexander Burke. His face was a mask of scars, created by Magneto himself when he brought down Burke's company building in downtown NYC, and caused the death of his wife and thousands of his employees. Gone was the smirking, swarmy demeanor of the playboy. His face was now hardened by years of war with the mutants, and many other heroes whom he once called friends.

'Burke...you fucking murdering bastard!!' Erik stood, his eyes burned with hatred.

'Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.' Alex snarled back. 'Jarvis...kill that bastard.'

Erik took a brief moment and looked at Charles. 'Hurry Charles.'

Erik then lifted from the walkway, his hands raised palms up at his sides. The Sentinel Javis thrust it's hand forward and a reddish repulsor beam lashed out at Erik. Suddenly several large sections of the broken wall raised and blocked the beam, causing the wall sections to explode, but the explosion was contained by a magnetic sphere. Metal shards from the explosion then began battering the Jarvis Sentinel, causing it to take several involuntary steps backwards as its arms lifted up to block the attack from it's chest and face.

Charles looked at Leland, or the mental image of her. 'Erik won't be able to last long against them. Burke has created his Iron Sentinels with a nearly unbreakable non-metallic polymer, and a AI that learns as it fights their foes.'

"Professor, I don't understand 'any' of this! Why am I here?!" Leland was nearly hysterical with confusion. She has had many visions in her life, but never had one that was so vivid, much less one that her visions were actually talking to her.

'I have used the power of Cerebro to augment my own mental energies in a massive confluent wave to breach the timeline. You were the only person that I could reach that would be able to help us escape.'

"But...but I can't tell anyone about my visions!" Leland screamed in exasperation, as tears began rolling down her cheeks. "I'll die!"

Charles smiled, a reassuring smile. 'I know this child. But you can 'guide' my X-Men to where we need them to go. I have the greatest faith in you Leland, I watched you grow into your place here and eventually guided many other troubled students to use their powers responsible. You 'lead' the X-Men during the beginning of the War. You saved hundreds, if not thousands of lives, both mutant and human.'

"How...how did I...d..d...die?"

Again, Charles looked at Leland, there was an almost reassuring warmth that surrounded her, as if Charles was hugging her. 'With honor Leland...with great honor.'

'You bastard, you have destroyed the world! Billions of people murdered by your petty revenge!' Erik screamed as with a clap of his hand in front of him, the Jarvis Sentinel suddenly flattened as if Erik's hands had just crushed it between his hands. The machines collapsed to the floor, as Erik raised his hand over his head, and the trillions of particles of what looked like dust swirl around him making it appear that he was floating within a tornado of debris.

Burke's eyes narrowed as he came to realize what was happening. 'Bravo. You filled the walls of the chamber with metal particles. Filled Jarvis full of the particles and then crushed him from within.'

'Hundreds and hundreds of tons of it, you bastard.' Erik smirked back at Burke.

'I got something for that.' Burke stated as his faceplate closed, and a chill ran down Erik and Charles's back as they both knew that Burke would stop at nothing to destroy them. As the floor to the chamber suddenly fell away, they fears were realized.

The flooring fell down into a massive sinkhole that opened up, a sinkhole that literally had been burrowed down to the very core of the planet. It was these Core Vents that had destroyed the surface of the world. Burke had these Core Vents drilled by the thousands around the world to use the Geo-Thermal power to create his new Sentinels, with the secret knowledge that he also knew that these vents would also destablize the electromagnetic field of the Earth itself, and thus weakening Magneto himself. He didn't care what it would do to the the planet himself. He was mad with revenge, and it would not be cured until Magneto's lifeless body was under his armored boot.

Burke didn't even realize the the sinkhole had sucked down his remaining Sentinel, his hatred and the end of Magneto so close at hand he could taste it.

Magneto and Burke floated in the air in front of one another. Their hatred for one another was a palpable force within the room. This was the moment. The moment that Charles and Erik had planned for. With the power of Cerebro and the very power of the Earth itself, they now had the energy that was needed. Ironically enough, it was Burke himself that had provided the final touch.

It was Erik's turn to give a smirking smile to Burke, as he redirected the very Electromagnetic field of the Earth, pulling it closer and closer until it was hugging the very Earth itself, and effectively sealing every vent that Burke had drilled over the years...and leaving the only outlet for the thermal energy...the one directly below them. Already Charles had activated the thermal absorption unit beneath the control panel of Cerebro's console.

'NO! You won't escape me like this Erik!!' Burke screamed at the top of his lungs.

Erik began sweating heavily from the exertion of pulling the damaged magnetic field together, and knew that it was only a matter of time before he lost it. But a new smile crept up on his lips. It was a smile that Charles knew only too well.

'Erik...NO!' Charles yelled.

'I have a parting gift for you Burke. One I've been holding onto for years, until the perfect moment.'

Six gleaming blades suddenly rose from the inside of his boots. The blades were slightly curved near the tips, making them look like claws.

'Logan, sends his regards. Most likely he would have said 'fuck you'.'

With a flick of his fingers, the adamantium blades streaked through the air and punctured Iron Man's chest piece, making a 'X' formation there, and pinning him to the far wall of the chamber.

Charles could only stare in abject horror, while Erik floated down to the walkway and stood next to him. Before Erik could even react, Charles punched Erik squarely in the jaw, causing him to take several steps backwards. 'That was uncalled for Charles.'

Charles merely shook his now throbbing hand in pain, and looked at Leland. 'The time is now Leland, you must get your people...to...'

Suddenly the vision began to snap in and out of focus, as the energies of the mental, magnetic and thermal energies began to coalesce beneath them over the sinkhole.

'Hurr....to....on...Oc....30....you must....' Charles's voice faded in and out.

Leland was raising her voice over the din of the energies snapping and popping all around her. But then her eyes suddenly widened in horror as she notices behind both Charles and Erik, that Burke has somehow survived. Blood running rivulets out of the six blades in his chest, but somehow he raises his arm, the repulsor emitter beginning to glow.

"PROFESSOR!!!" Leland screams and points, but it is far too late, as the beams flashes from Iron Man's gauntleted hand.

The beam strikes Charles hard in his lower back and Erik grabs him, his face contorted with both rage and worry. The powerful blast pushes both of them over the railing of the walkway, and both fall into the swirling maw of energies.

Leland then suddenly finds herself back in the greenhouse, her hand clutching the Lotus flower in her hand. What had seemingly lasted hours, was merely a tick of the clock. She looses her footing and falls on her butt, her eyes locked in a permanent expression of shock.
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Re: Massachusetts Academy II

Post by RCCrow »

“Even if it wasn’t against the law, we shouldn’t be doing it.” Thalia said. “What’s right isn’t always the law.” She said.

“That’s my point.” Joseph said, clapping his hands and laughing.

“What’s right is tolerance for others.” Thalia said, raising her voice a bit, which was rare for her. “It’s understanding that everyone has a place and value in society, no matter what they believe, what they feel, or how they are.” She said. “If someone else chooses to use violence that doesn’t mean that you should choose to do that yourself.”

“But that mentality is going to get more people killed. I acknowledge that there aren’t many people who are this violent towards Mutants.” Joseph said. “The ones that are, though, they’re using extreme means. They’re the ones that I’m talking about. They’re the ones that should be topped, by any means necessary.”

“I think we’re going to have to agree to disagree with all of this.” Rose said. She walked up to Joseph and leaned in a little bit. “Also, you’re entitled to your opinions, but I’d talk to the people who run this place before you go around shooting your mouth of like this.” She said.

“Why, cause they’re afraid of what I’m going to say and are going to censor me?” Joseph asked, with a smirk.

Rose was distracted for a moment, her vision turning to see, beyond the students watching everything that was happening, Leland moving faster than usual, down the hallway. “What? No. Because it’s polite, doofus.” She said, turning and walking away.

<->

Leland’s breath was ragged as she ran down the hallway, weaving through some of the students as she made her way towards where she knew Alec was. Everyday right around this time, the grounds keeper of Massachusetts’ Academy worked on the vehicles that the school had, usually with Samantha Martin. If he wasn’t there with Sam, he was usually in the gym, again with Samantha Martin. Alec and the middle of the Martin Triplets known as the Dreamers had developed an interesting friendship over the school year at the Academy.

Bouncing off of a wall as she moved down a staircase, Leland exploded through doors and into the gym area, knowing that it was easier to check the gym first than the garage. As it happened, she could see Alec and Samantha in a corner of the room. Samantha was working on a speed bag, and Alec was gesturing, showing her how to move. Her legs were tied, so that her range of motion was heavily restricted, forcing her to think properly about the movements themselves.

“Alec.” Leland said, her voice breathy.

He turned, and concern hit his face. “What’s wrong?” He asked.

“I need to talk to you and Alessandra. It’s very…very important.” She said, before collapsing onto the ground, eliciting a small squeak from Sam.
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Re: Massachusetts Academy II

Post by Ninzi »

“I’ve had enough of this.”

Joseph turned as Jacob slowly rose, towering over the smaller teenager.

“I came out here to be alone and Thalia, being a friend, wanted to help me with my problems. You came out here and you’re using this as a soapbox.” Jacob said, his muscles flexing as he spoke. Pieces of the rock that he was made out of grated against each other, and he leaned in towards Joseph who took an involuntary step back. After all, Jacob was a very tall being. “You should leave. No one here wants to hear what you’re talking about.”

Joseph took another step back and spread his arms. “I don’t know about that. I think I have a rapt audience.” He said, gesturing to the students that were watching everything that was happening in the atrium. “Unless you’re talking about infringing on my First amendment right to-“

He didn’t finish the sentence, as Jacob’s grip on his throat stopped him from talking.

Thalia’s eyes widened and she reached out, placing her hand on his arm. “Jacob, stop.” She said. “You don’t want to hurt him.” She said.

Jacob nodded slowly, and tossed Joseph backwards, so that the older teenager landed in a heap on the ground a few yards away.

“Get. Out.” Jacob said to Joseph.
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Re: Massachusetts Academy II

Post by Mir »

Leland’s hand was shaky as she accepted the glass of water. As she looked around, she saw that she was in the Headmistress’ office and was on one of the couches that she had for her activities as the school therapist. Drinking from the glass, she looked at the three people in front of her, Alessandra, Alec, and Shane Grammer. “It was…vivid.” She said as the door opened and Dr. Grant and Professor Reeve stepped into the room.

“Describe it for us, with whatever details you can remember, please.” Alessandra said, sharing a quick glance of hello with Benjamin and Vincent.

“I can’t.” Leland said. “My powers give me visions of the future, in this case, a future that doesn’t even seem possible. But if I tell you the details, I die. I’m cursed to never be able to confide in people the truths that I know."

“It’s true.” Alec said, nodding. “She always talks in riddles.” He said.

“They’re my specialty.” Leland said.

“Would she be able to tell us, if Benjamin was in the room?” Alec asked, looking at Grant. “He dampens people’s powers."

Vincent shook his head. “I wouldn’t take the chance. I know I can’t die, and I don’t think you can, but we can’t take a chance with her life.” He said and Benjamin nodded.

“I wouldn’t want to risk it.” He said.

“Riddles it is then.” Shane murmured, turning to look at Leland.

“It’s a future of death filled with destruction. There are people talking that shouldn’t be able to talk to each other.” Leland said. “I don’t know how they’re doing it.” She said, her voice breathy as she was still having a hard time getting through everything that had happened to her. Her eyes darted around the room. “I'm sorry, I usually think of these riddles before I start talking to people.” Leland added.

“You’re doing fine.” Benjamin said, as he grabbed a notepad and pen from Alessandra’s desk. “Keep going.” He said, gently.

“We need to do something in order to stop the conflict from coming. I don’t know what it is. No one knows what it is. But the conflict is coming unless we stop it.” She said. “That’s all I can tell you without getting into specifics.”

“I guarantee this has something to do with Borden.” Alec said, folding his arms over his chest. “I guarantee it.” He said, and Leland looked up at him.

“Elizabeth Borden?” She asked.

“She doesn’t need to hear this.” Benjamin said, giving Alec a sharp look. “She's just a kid."

“Didn’t we already have this argument?” Alec said, shaking his head.

“I know who Elizabeth Borden is.” Leland. “She went by the name of Amelia Jones. You should be worried about her.” She said, and silence ruled the room.

“Give me the riddles, and do it slowly.” Alessandra said.

“Borden knows where to hit us, she knows how to hurt us. You’re letting her in here and you don’t even realize it.” Leland said. “I think you guys need to take a careful look at the people who live here.” She said.

Shane sniffed from where he stood, leaning against the wall. His blue fur rippled. “I hardly think that a witch hunt of our own people is something we should be considering.” He said.

“But Dr. Grammer, what’s going to happen if Borden helps open the floodgates to the rest of the world?” Leland asked. “Do you think that the walls of academia are going to protect us all?”

“We’re a school for Mutants, Leland. We’ve never shied away from that.” Shane replied.

“We’ve also never had the government stick it’s nose in here, and there are weapons ready to do that.” Leland said.

“I’m starting to get tired of the riddles.” Vincent said, sitting down in one of the chairs. “I was never the sort for them.” He added.

“Sorry, it’s the best I can do.” Leland replied.

“Oh, I’m not angry with you.” Vincent said with a smile. “Just the situation. What do you mean by weapons?"

“X marks the spot.” Leland said.

Now everyone’s face changed.
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Re: Massachusetts Academy II

Post by RCCrow »

“I have a feeling she’s referring to Weapon X.” Shane said.

“How is it that I don’t have the degrees that you have, if I came to the same conclusion?” Alec asked.

Shane’s fur rippled. “We’re having enough problems without your choice in expression, Alec.” He said and Alessandra gave Alec a look.

“I know. This is very frustrating.” Alec replied. “Borden is one thing, Weapon X is something else entirely.” He said. “We need to figure out a plan.” He said.

“Plans are good. The best laid plans tend to crumble when you have too many architects and not enough workers.” Leland said, looking at the gathered teachers. “I think one plan is the way to go.” She said, and looked at Shane. “A plan of tolerance or a plan of action?” She asked, turning her eyes towards Alec. She lifted a hand to her head, resting her forehead in the palm of her hands. “Borden knows things. She knows what will happen if other peoples’ plans are able to come to pass.”

When she fell silent, Alessandra paused, leaning against her desk. “Is there anything else that you can tell us, Leland?” She asked, and Leland shook her head.

“I’m sorry, that’s all I can risk.” She said.

Shane stepped forward, and placed a blue furry paw on her shoulder. “Leland, you have already helped us more than you can know. If there’s anything else you wish for us to know regarding this matter, you know where to find any of us.” He said.

She nodded and set the empty glass of water down, before heading out of the room.

Alessandra looked over at Benjamin. “What do you think?” She asked.

“As far as I know, everything Leland has ever predicted has come true.” He said. “This isn’t a situation that we can treat with kids gloves.” He added, shaking his head. “We have a duty to protect the students from outside threats that wish to harm them. I may not always be in agreement with Alec on the methods we use to do that, but we both agree that it’s something that has to be done. Leland’s vision or whatever it was, it doesn’t bode well for the school’s future.”

“But Weapon X?” Vincent asked as he started to walk around Alessandra’s office. “Is there even an organization with that name at this point? What’s the probability?”

Benjamin’s eyes tracked Vincent as he moved around the office. “I don’t know how well you know the American government, considering you’re a Brit, but there’s plenty that it would do to track mutants. It may not be the Weapon X that we know of from the history books, but it could be something very much like it.”

“So what to do?” Alessandra asked, as looked down at the ground, thinking.
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Re: Massachusetts Academy II

Post by RCCrow »

"We could reach out to someone from the government." Vincent said. "The State Department maybe?" He asked, and then shook his head. "It's strange that there would be an organization like the original Weapon X anymore. You would think that the government would have learned in some regard." He added.

"Maybe they did." Alec said. "If you were going to keep spying on mutants, but you wanted to look like you'd changed, you make the organization even more clandestine than it already was." He looked at Vincent, who's pacing was starting to annoy him. "It's a textbook move, to be honest."

"That's true." Shane said. "We need to consider how we're going to go about doing that." He said, looking at the rest of the teachers assembled in the room. He saw that Benjamin looked more hung up on things than the rest of them. "Is something wrong, Benjamin?" He asked.

The other man nodded. "I'm a bit more concerned about Elizabeth Borden, really. I think that the government can be dealt with in due time. It's easy to find them, they're the government. It's easy to make noise about them, but not as easy when it comes to Borden." Benjamin glanced over at Alec, who was nodding. "This is something that's a high priority in my mind. After all, Borden looks like she's directly threatening the school, which means she's directly threatening the students. We can't allow a threat to the student body, we just can't." He said.

"I can look into this." Alec said, and Alessandra gave him a look. "I can." He said, his voice becoming a bit more pleading, a bit more earnest. "This is something that I can do, I know how to do it and I know what to look for."

She walked around her desk and sat down, placing her hands on the desk, folded as if in prayer. "We have to be sure about what we're doing. I know Elizabeth Borden. She is an expert at twisting things, twisting minds. Twisting people. If she is planning on doing somethign to the school, w e need to know what it is and how to prepare for it." She said, and looked up at Alec. "Find out whatever you can, but don't hurt anyone." She said. "No one is to speak of this to the students. Shane, I would like you to talk to Leland, to make sure that she knows that she shouldn't let her fellow students know about this. She may be a little worried and upset about her vision and I don't want panic to grip the students. It's the last thing they should be worried about."

It went against a lot of what Shane believed in, since he enjoyed treating his students as adults and putting his faith in them. "I'll do it." He said, finally. There was reluctance in his voice. "They should focus on their studies, on becoming the best people that they can be. Worrying about things like this, well, it's our job."

"We need to be ready to do our jobs if the time comes." Alec said, his tone a bit ominous.

"I'd like to speak to Alec along for a moment." Alessandra said. "Thank you all, for your help on this. Shane, let me know what Leland says. If she doesn't feel comfortable not sharing this with her fellow students, I'll understand."

"What's going on?" Alec asked, as the other teachers left the room.
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Mir
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Re: Massachusetts Academy II

Post by Mir »

“I want you to be careful. Elizabeth Borden can be very dangerous. If she thinks that you’re on to her, you’re going to be in a lot of trouble.” Alessandra said.

Alec cocked his head to the side studying the Brazilian woman for a moment or two. He was trying to get a read on her and he could tell that she was doing her best to keep her surface body language as passive as she could. Unfortunately, she wasn’t doing to well. “You’re not usually that concerned with my well being.” He said, his face giving away his own look of mild surprise. “What gives?” He asked.

“Well, I’m concerned now. Take it or leave it, I don’t care.” She said, with an air of haughtiness. Even though she was the telepath, Alessandra was pretty sure that Alec was able to see through the façade. “She’s dangerous, that’s all. If you mess this up, then the school and the children will be threatened and I don’t want that, that’s all that it is.” She said, trying to come up with another viable reason as to why she would this concerned. It wasn’t to say that the safety and security of the school and the children wasn’t on her mind, but she had other more personal concerns one her mind as well.

“That’s all it is?” He asked, stepping around the desk, forcing her to turn towards him. “You’re sure?” Alec asked.

Ale nodded. “Why, what other reason would I be concerned about you?” She asked, and he smirked. “Oh, God. You value yourself way too much, you know that?”

“What would you do with that dog without me. You barely take him for walks or spend time with him.” He said, almost jokingly.

Her eyes widened. “That is patently untrue and you know it. I love Alec Jr.” Alessandra replied, glad that they could be focusing on the bulldog puppy they shared. “Any insinuation to the contrary is one that I will not tolerate or stand for.” Her eyes softened. “Promise me you’ll be careful. I know she’s capable of a lot. She’s twisted friends of mine, and she tries to turn everyone to listen to her and only her.”

“You’d rather I listen to you and only you?” He asked.

She rolled here eyes in response to this. “You don’t listen to me to begin with. That’s part of your problem, and one you’re too pigheaded to try to fix.” Alessandra replied, putting a hand on her hip. “I want you to be safe, that’s all.”

“Ale, if this woman is as dangerous as you say she is, I can’t wear kids gloves while going through this.” The British man replied. “I’ll be as safe as I can be.”

“That’s all I’m asking for.” She said.

He paused. They’d been dancing around something more serious between the two of them for quite some time. But neither person had ever been willing to come out and say it. He wasn’t even sure if she felt the same way that he felt. Their playful banter was always appreciated though. “Anything else, boss?” He asked.

“You’re not getting overtime pay for this.”

Alec smiled. “That’s fine with me.”
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Re: Massachusetts Academy II

Post by RCCrow »

His office door was closed, different from how it usually was. Generally, Shane liked to leave the door open, welcoming in all those who wanted to talk to him. But with Vincent in the room, and the subject they were discussing, Shane thought it best everything happened behind closed doors. The fact that he had thought that the best course of action, let alone had followed through on it, infuriated him.

“What do you make of the riddles?” He asked Vincent, who was sitting in front of his desk.

“I’m not sure.” The Brit replied. “Honestly, a lot of it was just confusing and beating around the bush.”

“She has to do that, I’m afraid.” Shane said, dropping into his chair. “This thing though, I worry about what might happen. Alec has a tendency to want to go for the throat, to rip the jugular out. It’s what he knows.”

Vincent looked down at his hands. “What do we know about him, really? I’ve heard the story, he was pulled out of the San Francisco bay, no memory of who he was, however many years he’d been alive. I know there was a lot of work done to restore his memory, but there are a lot of gaps.” He said.

“What’s your point?” Shane asked, steepling his fingers together.

Vincent shrugged. “I’m thinking about something that Leland said. She said we need to take a careful look at the people who live here.”

Shane almost laughed. “I know Alec has his ghosts and he fights them on a daily basis, but I hardly think that he’s the kind of person who would be working for Elizabeth Borden.” The mutant said adjusting his glasses. “You need to understand, Alec would let any number of unholy things happen to him before he would let any harm befall Alessandra. She may be a telepath and an expert in the field of psychology, but somehow she has missed that that man is head over heels in love with her.” He added. “Alessandra doesn’t like Borden, so Alec doesn’t like Borden, that’s just how it works.”

“Telepaths can control minds.” Vincent said, looking away, as if remembering something from his past. “Borden is a telepath. Alec can’t remember his past. It’s not that far-fetched of a theory.” He said, as there was a knock on the door that stopped Shane from opining further on the topic.

Shane rose and opened the door, revealing Laurence and Sean, who were waiting outside. He belatedly remembered that they had booked some time to ask him questions regarding some of their classes. Turning back to Vincent, he smiled. “It appears we’ll have to table our discussion for a later time.”
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Re: Massachusetts Academy II

Post by peayitforward »

Audrey was sitting at the breakfast table, eating oatmeal. Across from her sat her father, who also had oatmeal. She was eating, but he wasn’t. He was looking at a tablet, reading the news. But he hadn’t touched his food. She looked over at him, watching for a few moments. Something was on his mind. Her father rarely looked this distracted.

“Is everything okay?” She asked.

“I’m sorry?” Vincent replied, looking up and making eye contact with her.

“What’s wrong?” Audrey asked.

“Nothing, nothing.”

“Come on, tell me.” She said. “I thought we told each other things.”

He nodded. “The school, it is…it is in danger.” He said. “From outside forces. Forces beyond our control.”

“What can we do?” She asked.

Her father shook his head. “I’m not sure. But there’s going to be a fight soon.” He said. “I think that’s why Alessandra wanted that field day. She thinks that we need to be ready. I can see it in her eyes.”

“Well that’s good.” Audrey said. “If we need to be ready then we should be ready.”

“That’s what I’m worried about.”
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