Subject: [OTL]: (Lightwind Arc; New Mutants 4) Rolling Calls Chapter 2/? (PG-13) Date: Sat, 24 May 2003 22:17:43 -0700 (PDT) From: Phil Hartman will1@earthling.net Rolling Calls Chapter 2 by Phil Hartman DISCLAIMER: The kids are mine. Their parents belong to their creators. Etc. -------------------------------------------------------- 9/2/2023: X-Mansion: 08:00 hrs EDT: -------------------------------------------------------- #Well, I DID want them to get here on time ...# "OK, people, two at a time on the stairs - one going up, one going down," Frank shouted over the noise of 24 13-year-olds reuniting, arriving and generally celebrating in the X-Mansion's front hall. The other 12 students had arrived all in the space of the last half-hour. "Chaos" was a word Frank was hoping to avoid using, but ... #At least I haven't foreseen any calamities,# the ultra-psi thought, trying to count his blessings. Then the Geiger counter went off. "ZACH !" -------------------------------------------------------- "Don't look so glum, amigo. Senor Richards knows you didn't mean to start leaking plasma ..." "It's no excuse. Ah'm one of the most dangerous people here, an' ah've got an example t'set," Zach Guthrie - eldest son of Sam "Cannonball" and Tabitha "Meltdown" Guthrie - sighed as he unpacked. Like his father, Zach was tall, with a blond crewcut and blue eyes. He also was as gangly as Sam had been when the elder Guthrie had joined the first team of New Mutants. Unlike Sam, Zach's power was far more dangerous. "Just try to relax, Zach. You worry too much - at least our teachers can both decontaminate the place," Lucien DaCosta tried to reassure his best friend. The dark-skinned geokinetic set Zach's other suitcase down, then clapped the Kentuckian on the back. "Ah know. Ah'd just hoped ... mah dad was the leader of X-Force for years, Luke. An' now, ah was hopin' to carry on that tradition, but with mah power ..." Zach rambled off, shaking his head. "Hey, give it time. Besides, I want to be able to compete with you, si ? So stop angsting - that's Payne's job - and finish unpacking so we can hit the Danger Room," Lucien said with a grin. -------------------------------------------------------- "I'm verra worried, Ms. Mahn ..." "Well, Nora, I do have some good news. Your snoring shouldn't be life-threatening," Nga Coy Mahn - one of Frank and Rachel Richards' multitude of former classmates, and an accomplished doctor - said to the young Scots girl sitting on the edge of the medbed. Nora Ramsey could have been mistaken for her mother, Rahne; both had bright green eyes and red hair. Nora, however, had hair down to her shoulders, and her body seemed to ... shimmer ... at times as she constantly corrected her self-image. #She's still uncomfortable with her powers. Teenage metamorphs are so hard to keep stable,# Nga thought sympathetically. She fought a smile at the memory of her sister-in-law's travails with her own metamorphic ability, almost 20 years earlier. #Of course, Becky's limited in her morphic range,# Nga reminded herself. #Nora is far more powerful. And that's her problem ... I need to approach this carefully.# "The problem is that ... well, the part of your mouth that's responsible for causing snoring tends to ... dangle ... when you sleep. It's not enough to choke you, but the only real way for you to fix it is to work on your powers more," Nga began. Nora's eyes widened, and Nga swore the girl's flesh changed several colors. "Ye mean - when I sleep, I lose control ?" Nora gulped. #Sacred Mother, give me strength,# Nga thought, shaking her head. "You can't lose control that you don't already have," Nga said, trying to keep her patience. "Just practice more, and come see me or Mrs. Richards if you need to talk to someone." Nora nodded her assent, then slid off of the medbed and left the room in silence. Nga watched her go, wishing for not the first time that she had a bit of her brother's telepathy. #Then again, given Leong's temper, maybe that's not such a good idea ...# -------------------------------------------------------- #I know my power's not evil. But it's just so ... frightening ...# Nora had found a quiet corner of what was once the X-Men's War Room to curl up in. She hugged her knees up under her chin, and tried not to cry. When her power had first manifested, barely months earlier, she hadn't shifted into any specific form, like her mother Rahne could. And while the elder Ramseys were both accepting and understanding of their daughter's talent, they were at something of a loss when it came to Nora's sheer versatility. #Which is why I came here. But it's so large, and I don't know hardly anyone here ...# Nora thought, letting a tear trickle down her cheek. ~Nora ? Ach, come here ...~ "N-Ninaeve ?" Nora whispered, looking up to see her "aunt" standing at the lit entrance to the War Room. Ninaeve Cassidy smiled faintly, then turned on the lights and walked to where Nora was sitting. At a glance, the girls could be mistaken for sisters; both had classic Celtic features, with green eyes and long red hair. But Nora's face was rounder, while Ninaeve's was a mishmash of her parents' features. No one who looked at Ninaeve could mistake her for anybody but Sean and Moira Cassidy's child. #And she's so much braver,# Nora thought, drying her eyes and giving Ninaeve a weak smile. Ninaeve was full of her parents' fire and zest for life. Music was her main pursuit; even before her sonic powers had manifested in her early double digits, she'd all but mastered Celtic songs. Even with the subtle changes in her voice, she was still one of the most remarkable bards of the 21st century. "Ach, I'm nae more brave'n ye. We both left Muir t'come here, didn't we ?" Ninaeve insisted as she hugged Nora. "Now c'mon - ye've got t' show me around. If it wasn't f'r Mrs. Richards, I'd've never found this room. The maps're unreliable ..." -------------------------------------------------------- "DAN !!!!!!!" "ACK - Ace - can't breathe -" the brown-haired Caucasian boy in Aislinn's embrace gagged. Aislinn released Dan Wisdom, blushing as she did so. The younger of the two sons of Peter and Katherine Wisdom coughed, but smiled weakly nonetheless as he finished putting his bags in the room he would share with Aislinn's uncle Jesse Summers. [You could've just phased,] Jesse signed as he grinned at Dan and Aislinn. "Very funny. For all we know, I might've gone superdense and plunged through the floor," Dan said, speaking clearly to allow Jesse to read his lips. Jesse just rolled his eyes, then went back to unpacking. [Sometimes being deaf has its advantages,] the crewcut photokinetic boy signed. "C'mon - tell me about your family - LOCKHEED !? OhmyGOSH !" Aislinn gushed as a familiar purple dragon climbed out of one of Dan's duffle bags and flew merrily around Dan. "Lockheed !? But - well, if you really want to stay with me ..." Dan said, letting the small purple dragon coil up on his shoulders. Lockheed cooed emphatically, nuzzling Dan's cheek before settling down to doze. "Of course he should ! Lockheed was here for all three of the previous classes of New Mutants. Besides, if he gets silly, just foist him off on Bryce - the little guy adores him," Aislinn said, beaming. "C'mon -" She temported herself, Dan and Lockheed into the library, then pulled out a chair for her friend before sitting down herself. "Talk. How's your family ?" Aislinn insisted. "Well ... Aaron's at the XSE office in Tulsa, with Maureen and most of the rest of the Omicron platoon," Dan began, shrugging gently. "And ? Has he asked Maureen yet ?" Aislinn pleaded, beaming. Dan rolled his eyes, provoking a glower from Aislinn. It was a well-known fact that Dan's older brother, Aaron, had long had a crush on his classmate and XSE squadmate, Maureen Astrovik (an Alpha-class psi and the daughter of Vance and Angelica Astrovik). "Hey, don't shoot the messenger," Dan huffed when he saw Aislinn's lips start to twitch. "That mushy stuff isn't what I care a lot about. When Aar decides to pop the question, he'll tell us." "You'd better tell me when he does. I want to show up that snotty Melanie," Aislinn demanded, despite the puppy-dog eyes she was giving Dan. "I don't know that Aaron is the only one with a crush," Dan gulped, blushing profusely at Aislinn. "What - you - think I - YOU !?" Aislinn shrieked, waking Lockheed and making Dan turn even more red than before. The chronovariant girl disappeared in a flash of green light, leaving Dan to facepalm while Lockheed patted him comfortingly. "I swear, I can't win, Lock," Dan moaned. -------------------------------------------------------- Parry. Thrust. "GIVE IT UP, BOY !" Probe. Deflect. "I TOLD you -" Charge - - release. THWAKOOOOOOOOMMMMMM "- I won't - join - the -" THWRASH - - SHZAKIZZLLLLL - "-XSE -" THUD ~What thinks you make you have any CHOICE !?~ "Computer - GHAK - end program -" The room stopped, although it was still spinning. "BLWRKGHHHK -" Payne Summers finished coughing, then wiped his mouth on a sleeve of his skinsuit and felt on the floor for the tooth he'd lost. "Computer - encrypt Training Scenario PS-Alpha-One: Vocoder imprint: password 'Stormbringer,'" Payne said between gasps for breath. [Encryption complete,] the computer stated. [Shall I restore safety interlocks ?] "Confirmed. And delete any and all records of this training scenario, except for the encrypted file," Payne ordered as he got to his feet. He swept the floor with a telekinetic field, making sure to disrupt any organic matter the fight had left behind, and began to head for the door to the men's locker room. #God, I was hopeless,# the 13-year-old thought, shaking his head in self-contempt. #Who was I kidding ? He'll find me out, then snap my shields and ...# Payne shuddered, then began to get cleaned up. #I won't join the XSE. I WON'T.# -------------------------------------------------------- [XSE: Short for eXtranormal Security Enforcement, the so-called 'sixth Armed Service' of the United States government, created in 2006 to counter the first Genarch Revolt,] the computer began to state. "Yeah, I know. These stupid muticentrist cult freaks got together to try and use humans for raw materials, the X-teams and a bunch of other mutants got together under government sanction and crushed the Genarchs, the XSE was the result. First commandant was Darien Grey Crow, AKA Forge, AKA Genesis. Second commandant was Alex 'Havok' Summers. Third commandant, 2012 to date, Nathan 'Cable' Summers," the raven-haired girl said in a sing-song voice. "Your history score should be decent," Morgan Summers chuckled dryly to her roommate. "This from Herr Nate's heiress ?" Maya Logan cackled, rolling over on her bed. The youngest of Logan and Elektra Natchios's three children grinned wickedly at her roommate and friend, who teked a pillow at Maya. "You don't want to get me riled up, Mor," Maya giggled, more playfully. "I suppose this haircut might make you mistake me for one of the guys," Morgan deadpanned, running a hand across her crewcut brown locks. "Pfeh. I have my father's nose. Besides, you're coming along nicely. Won't be too long until you give me some serious competition," Maya said, appraising Morgan with a serious stare. Morgan turned around from her desk and raised an eyebrow. "You're serious. Maya, we're 13," the psionic girl began. "Yes. And life is short, remember ?" Maya snickered. "Not THAT - Payne ?" Morgan said, her voice dropping to a whisper as she narrowed her eyes. Maya sat up, her silliness disappearing into thoughtful concern as her brown eyes widened slightly. "Damnit. He's in the guys' locker room - the psi-shields are blocking even our twin-link," Morgan growled after a minute or so. "The way Payne shields, it's no surprise," Maya said sympathetically. "I have a similar problem with Marcus, although I don't WANT to see in his head." "That's comforting," Morgan laughed. She turned serious, her telekinesis deflecting the pillow Maya tried to hit her with, and she said, "Something's seriously wrong with Payne ... oh !" "Mor ? What is it ?" Maya asked, watching the other gir stand and head for the door. "You can't sense him ? No, of course - he's trying to damp his psi-sig, probably to keep the gene-paparazzi from trailing him," Morgan said, smiling faintly as she opened the door to the girls' bedroom. Maya's jaw almost hit the bed at the sight of who stood in the doorway. "Hi, Maya - Mor, honey, have you seen Payne ?" -------------------------------------------------------- NEXT: Payne relief - sort of; Rachel plays referee in several courts; and just why politics and teen mutants shouldn't mix ... --------------------------------------------------------