Guys... Waya reached out telepathically to alert the others. There was a very small chance of everyone being asleep. She was quite sure Eliza would be awake at least.
It's show time.
Maribel walked in with a stretch and threw herself on the sofa. She laid there for a moment before rolling over into a sitting position. Leaning over, she grabbed the remote and started flipping through the channels lazily, eventually stopping on a foreign, French chick flick. Although she started it in the middle, Maribel had seen it already back home and kept it on.
"I was watching that." said
Junior's disembodied voice. when she'd come in the television had been on, but as Junior often liked to do, he was nowhere to be seen.
Maribel would have screamed had she had a voice. Instead, she jumped up and looked around frantically until she realized it was Junior's voice. 'You jerk!' she signed hastily.
"You're the one who barged in and took control of the tv."
Junior said, unmasking himself from one of the chairs. his red skin was a rather harsh contrast against the black couch.
Maribel smirked and shook her head, finding it amusing how surprised she had gotten when he spoke. Taking the remote, she leaned over against the armrest and held it out to him to take. She figured Junior surely wouldn't want to watch a French movie.
Suddenly a ghostly figure of
Jeremy popped out of the other side of the couch, pointing accusingly at Junior. He'd gone after the boy, but then Junior had just vanished without a word. So Jeremy had gone into his ghost form, and had been hunting all over for him. It was strange, three people were technically in this room. Two could turn invisible, two couldn't talk right now and none of them looked anything near human anymore.
"Keep it."
Junior told Maribelle. "Apparently I'm in trouble."
Maribel leaned back and sat properly. It was then that she noticed Jeremy's sprit. Again, she nearly leapt out of her skin. Frustrated that she had been scared twice in a row, she slapped the armrest and stomped her foot. Taking a deep breath, she gave Jeremy a look before returning her gaze to Junior, 'Why?'
It wasn't exactly
Jeremy's fault if he spooked her, it wasn't as if he could make a noise to get heard. She should be used to seeing him drifting silently along by now.
"I guess I did something."
Junior told her, crossing his arms. "What is it Jeremy? Who's cereal did I piss in?"
Maribel looked over at Jeremy, 'I don't understand that American slang...'
Jeremy's hands signed the words "I was looking all over for you and you know it" back in response. He was just a little peeved that Junior had run off on his own and had even hid himself so Jeremy couldn't find him.
"No, I didn't know it."
Junior told him. "When I wanna be alone, I make sure I'm alone. Now what the hell do you want?"
Jeremy seemed to prickle bodily, then vanished down into the couch again in a huff. It seemed what he had wanted most of all was to not have Junior alone again, which Junior had rather just ruined unapologetical
ly. It wasn't like it hadn't been obvious he'd been looking. He'd passed through this room several times just looking in different rooms.
"If it's so important he can come tell me himself." Junior said crossing his arms and watching Maribel's French film. It took a few moments before he realized he had no idea what was going on and he exclaimed, "What the hell am I watching!??"
Maribel airily chuckled. 'It loosely translates to 'Island for Two' I believe. It's a chick flick about a guy and a girl who get stranded on an island. They come from different backgrounds; one is a wealthy city goer while the other is a poor country girl....hilarity ensures and eventually they end up falling for one another.' she messed with the remote and put subtitles on. 'Can I ask you something? How come you left the meeting so early?'
"Personal reasons." Junior told Maribel, but he didn't want to snap at her. He had no problems with Maribel, she hadn't come here to get tossed into the world she ended up in. Despite her hardships she was doing well. He didn't want to burden her or reveal any secrets that should be kept hidden.
'Fair enough.' Maribel signed and left it at that. She watched the movie for a little bit longer before turning to him and randomly asking, 'Is there a reason we never leave this place? You know...maybe have fun in the city? I've been here for almost a while semester and haven't gotten to explore yet.'
"People don't like us." Junior told her. "Not that it's still so bad for mutants... but... us in particular... X-Men... we're not exactly popular with the public now-a-days..."
'Only in this city?' she asked, not really sure. No one around here talked about this sort of thing.
"Pretty much everywhere..." Junior told her sadly. "They... I..." Junior didn't know what to say. After the disappearance of the proper X-Men all the parents had pulled their children from the school. The remaining few teachers had disbanded... "I think the world resents us for trying to keep the school going."
'They just don’t understand it. I’ve been here for a few months and although I thin this place triggered my mutation....I’m glad I’m here. There is no way I could have gotten comfort from my hometown. Although there are no teachers and although there is no curriculum, I'm glad I came here.' Maribel explained.
"Your implant is taking care of the curriculum, you just don't actively notice it." Junior explained. "But the outside doesn't see that... they see a party house with a bunch of teenagers yuckin it up I guess..."
‘Dad did freak out when I told him no one was really here initially.’ Maribel signed, ‘All we need here is some good press...of any kind really.’
"A few more normals wouldn't hurt ether." Junior told her. Between their group there was only Phinagin, Rhydian and maybe Eliza who looked normal. Eliza was on the fence considering her blue hair.
'Hey now... I couldn't help it.' Maribel teased a bit, meaning no harm in it. 'Eliza said she is working on a cure for me anyway, so who knows.'
"There are no cures." Junior told her darkly. "People have tried, it never works... No offense Mari, but I'd get used to looking like a freak." What was wrong with looking different any way? Junior had never looked normal and he wasn't sure if he was offended by her search for a cure or not...
Maribel raised a brow, unamused by his insensitivity. 'I suppose...it's all just happening too fast, you know? Two weeks ago and I looked like myself... now I'm this weird bug monster. It's hard to get used to it.'
"You don't look so weird to me..." Junior told her, but in his time he had seen some very strange looking mutants. "But I guess it could be a bit of an adjustment..."
Maribel smirked, not wanting to get all dramatic in here. 'This is definitely changing my body a lot more than puberty did.' she joked.
That made Junior laugh. "I guess it would be a rather big thing to adjust to." Junior said.
She was pleased that he laughed and singed, 'At what age did your skin turn red? Or were you born with it?'
"I was born awesome thank you very much." Junior told her with a smirk.
Maribel blew a raspberry, trying to hold it in, but soon started laughing. She really needed that. It was hard trying to be the one to cheer everyone up in a school of depressed orphans. 'You are a lucky one, then.'
"I've adapted." Junior told her. "You will too. You're hardly th same meek little girl who arrived a few months ago."
Maribel looked at him, 'Meek?! Please! I'm FAR from meek, let me tell you. Sure, I nearly urinated on myself up on the asteroid, but really... I went from a sheep ranch to outer space in the matter of days. Cut me some slack!'
"That's what I just said." Junior told him. "I know you can't talk but maybe you should get your hearing checked too." He sighed it, just in case, smirking because he was picking on her and she'd know he didn't mean anything by it.
Maribel threw a small pillow at his face playfully. She was glad that Junior seemed to have lightened up a bit since the incident last night. Still, she had no idea what happened to him or anyone else but Phinagin.
Junior phased, letting the pillow pass through him. 'Really, I think we should have the EMH check you out." Just to be a ass he sighed it and mimicked the words as if he were speaking.
Maribel signed, 'cheater' with one hand and threw another pillow with a silent giggle. It was fun to goof around for once with these guys.
Junior could have phased, but he chose not to. The pillow struck him in the face. "AOHWWE!" He exclaimed, grabbing his face with both hands and spilling over into the floor.
Maribel stood up on the couch and leapt onto the chair he had been on. Crossing her arms and legs, she sat down and lifted her chin as if she was proud of knocking the king off of this throne.
Junior rolled over onto his knees. "Ahh... Owe... what is wrong with you?"
Maribel wholeheartedly smiled, exposing her fangs thoughtlessly. It was actually a bit intimidating considering this was her 'happy' face. She sat proud and mockingly as she looked at the TV, ignoring Jr's question.
"Seriously..." Junior groaned. "I... I can't see..."
Maribel heard the seriousness in his voice and leaned forward to see his face. She had thought he was only being sarcastic and goofing around only to tease her. Had Maribel really hurt him? She got off the chair immediately and knelt my him.
"Ahhh..." Junior hissed. "ahh...." He was holding his hands over his face cringing and wincing. As she came closer he suddenly grabbed her with a "RAHHHH!" And zapped her with some harmless vibratory energy to frighten her.
The others would have heard a scream had Maribel a voice to scream with. She jolted when he grabbed her and the rush of energy seemed to trigger something inside. Almost like a sneeze, a splurt of liquid shot out of her fangs onto Junior. It was a reflex she didn't even know she had. Up until now of course.
"WhUUAAhh!!" Junior shouted. "Geeze Mari... it was a j... a jo..." Junior looked at his arms and began to feel a tingle... "Um... oh... oh gah... Shit!" It began to burn like fire and he tried brushing it off his skin. He tried phasing, but it was ON him, not near him. "Gha! It's burns!" He stood and stripped off his shirt once he noticed the stuff was beginning to eat through. "HELP!"
Maribel gasped, not knowing what she had just done. The liquid was a surprise to her as well. She headed to Junior, wanting to aid him, though clueless as to how. He could tell by the look of her face that she was desperate and horrified. What did she do?!
Eliza came in looking flustered. She looked in shock at what was happening, then grabbed Junior at once. No point messing around. "let me see" she said firmly; a man in panic is no great follower of orders however, so with the next "LET ME SEE!" she yanked his hands away hard. Her large arms held his arms away, a look of confusion spreading across her face. She looked between Maribel and Junior, then said "Quick, come on. We need to go wash this out." A button opened a secret elevator in the wall without a noise "I'll guide you to the infirmary alright? We need to wash that stuff out."
"We're here!" Jayden exclaimed with his brother as they ran in after Eliza. "Jesus- What happened?" they asked immediately after seeing the burns that were spreading on Junior's arms and part of his chest.
Maribel's chin was tensing and she was so upset and scared that she started crying. The poor French girl was holding her hands up to her face to hide her shame, worried about what she had done to her friend just now.
"It burns..." Junior was trying to be calm, but he was phasing in and out sporadically. "It seriously... burns." his calm voice was nothing to the intensity of what his skin was feeling. His shirt lay smouldering next to the couch.
Rhydian couldn't help but rush in when he heard his friend yell for help. His eyes took in the scene quickly, there seemed to have been some sort of acid sprayed on Junior and his clothes. Unlike the others, however, he was going to keep a level head. Eliza had Junior under control. He moved over to Maribel. "Are you alright?" He asked her, he knew she could hear, it was just more polite to sign with her as well, but with her covering her eyes, signing would be pointless.
Maribel nodded, still unable to stop crying. She was so scared...what had she just done to him. Rhydian could see that her growing mandibles were protruding out of her mouth a bit and were wet. The tips even held a drip of clear liquid that didn't seem to bother Maribel or her lips and gums.
"It's alright, I have some anti-acid down here" Eliza said as the doors slid shut in the elevator, taking them to the lower levels.
"What happened?" Phinagin asked as he came into the room, being the last one in. He wasn't too happy seing Rhydian being the one comforting her right now.
The twins looked at Phin and said, "We think there was an accident between Maribel and Junior. He seemed to be in pain and Eliza rushed him down to the hospital.
Maribel sniffled and wiped the tears from her face. Still with the look of peril, she signed, "We were goofing around and he surprised me... I... I sneeezed or something... I don't know! Some sort of ...stuff came out and it's killing him!' she started crying again, hiding her face with her hands and stepping away from the group. What had she done to her friend?! Was this a new part of her half formed mutation?! Whatever it was, it terrified her. The look on Junior's face... and his screaming echoed in her head.
Phinagin frowned, "Sounds like a new power is surfacing, maybe?" he said to those in the room. "I think when Eliza is done with Junior she should look at you again."
"I think Phinagin is right. Though it's unfortunate you found out this way." Jaden said
"Want to go see how Junior is doing?" Jayden asked.
Maribel was a but scared to see what she did to him, but nodded gently, wiping her eyes again. Right when she was starting to get slightly comfortable with this drastic body change, something like THIS happens. How could this get any worse?
Phinagin started to wonder what exactly Maribel had spit. He wanted to go down to the infirmary to check in, but was worried that he would just get in the way.
The twins thought about running off to tell Waya of the news, but decided against it. She was being rather cold and although they understood her feelings, were having trouble forcing themselves to run into another choke hold.
Maribel stepped away from the group, still trying to dry her eyes out. She was scared to go downstairs to the hospital. What if Junior was seriously in trouble? The thought was paralyzing. Still, she swallowed and went to the elevator.
Phinagin saw Maribel take off towards the elevator and decided to follow her. "Maribel, are you sure you're ok?"
Maribel shook her head 'no', feeling just awful right now. 'I don't know what happened...' she signed with a sniffle.
"Why don't you tell me what you do know." Phinagin said, hoping to help.
'We were..." Maribel sniffled, '...goofing around. I threw a pillow at him and he acted like he was hurt. When I went to check if he was ok, he scared me. I think he also sent some sort of energy wave at me. I don't know what happened next... I gasped and jumped... and some sort of liquid shot out of my mouth...out of these things.' She placed a finger in her mouth and held her lip open, showing Phinagin the little mandibles that seemed to be growing along her jaw. He could see black fangs inside and that they were quite long and wet. 'I didn't do it on purpose! It was like a sneeze...I couldn't help it! I didn't know what was going on. I'm so sorry!' she started to cry again.
Rhydian stayed back as Maribel moved away from them, let Phinagin handle it, he was wanting to get close to her anyway. He looked over at the twins. "What've you guys been up to? If you spent the night in the kitchen, why didn't you cook anything? It's weird."
"Well... we meant to and even started a bit." Jaden began.
"But-" Jayden interrupted, "we sort of fell asleep half way into it." They both were lying, but it was for the best. It wasn't a good idea to let Rhydian know that they had stayed up all night cooking a bountiful breakfast for Waya along with an apology. It was unfortunate that she never ate any of it... everything was perfect. "Once we figure out what's going on with Maribel and Junior, we'll make an awesome dinner."
"How's that sound?"
"Sounds like you need to spend some time in the Danger Room." Phinagin said as he put his arm around her, trying to comfort her.
With that, Phinagin and Maribel were brought down to Lower level Infirmary
"Sounds like a plan." Rhydian told them with a grin. Say what you will about the twins, but the boys knew how to cook.
"Think we should see how Junior is doing?" the twins asked, also a bit worried for their friend. "Never a dull moment."
"I'm thinking it's gettin rather crowded down there. Don't you think?" Rhydian asked, the last thing they needed was to get in the way down there
"I guess... hope it's not too serious. Maybe she'll call if it is?" Jaden shrugged. The boys slipped their hands into their pockets and looked around the room, then to the french movie on the TV. "Hmmm...." They looked at Rhydian. "So.... been well?"
The couch turned around and trotted over to the twins. Rhydian grinned from ear to ear, "Better than ever guys." He looked away for a second and the couch returned to normal. "Thanks for asking."
"Haven't heard much of you recently." a twin said.
"What say you about the trip to France?" asked the other.
"Considering how everyone's been towards me since Avalon, can you blame me?" Rhydian replied to the first twin. He looked at the other and shrugged. "I suppose it would be fun, but what's the point? I can have more fun here than across the ocean in the snobbiest country in the world."
"Oh come on... that's a common misconception." Jaden said right away. "Besides, maybe you'll meet some cute French girlies over there."
Rhydian shrugged and shook his head. "Only room for one cute French girl round here." He meant what he said, before the whole physical mutation kicked in, Maribel was an extremely cute girl. She was still cute, but now she had the 'mutant' label slapped in there.
"Before ...or AFTER the transformation?" a twin asked, rubbing his chin. He was of course curious to Rhydian's taste in women....or men for that matter. "Better hurry up if you've got your eyes on her."
"Seems Phin has his own foreign affair going on."
"Oh that was brilliant." and the two high fived.
Rhydian couldn't help but chuckle at that, it was a good one. He shook his head though, "I didn't say I had eyes on her. She's still the same girl that she was before the transformation. You guys think we'd you view you any different after you go through your puberty metamorphosis?"
"Jeez Rhydian....a bit personal, don't you think?"
"Besides, if we were going to go through any of that... we would have done it already." they explained.
"We did the voice cracking, ball dropping, acne scarred, awkward sweating phase from Dad's side."
"You're the ones trying to get me to say something bad about Maribel." Rhydian told them both, looking at them with the same hurt expression they had. He crossed his arms and looked at the two of them intently. "I think Maribel has her eyes set on Phin as well. I think they make a rather interesting couple, don't you?" He gestured toward the couch that had walked over to them.
"Hey hey.... we don't have anything bad to say about Maribel. She's a sweetheart." Jayden defended. "We were just trying to get a clue to what sort of lady friends you go after." The two turned around and sat on the couch he presented. They stretched a bit, still very tired from their lack of sleep last night and morning.
"Whatever for?" Rhydian asked them curiously. He gestured towards a lounge chair and it walked over for him to sit down as well. They'd know each other all these years and they still had no idea? Were they the only ones in the school?
"Uhh...cause that's what guy friends do last I heard?" Jaden shrugged.
Jayden nodded in agreement. "Come on man, who do you have your eyes on?"
Rhydian sat down and the chair walked him over to settle before the couch, that way they weren't talking across the room. "You guys seriously don't know?" He asked quietly, not really wanting anyone else to overhear them
"Well it's either Maribel, but you said no... Eliza... or Waya. And EVERYONE seems to like Waya, so that's our guess?" the twins lifted their shoulders and looked over at him.
"Can you blame me?" Rhydian replied with a grin. It was true, they all had a thing for Waya...
“Nah...though one girl split between four guys is kinda... scandalous, if you know what I mean.” Jayden said.
“However... it seems she’s got her own toy to play with now. George.” Jaden clarified. “And as silly as it is, Eliza has a stigma against dating her cousins. SO- off to find some cute french maids?” he gestured proudly.
That settled it, they had a thing for her too. Far too much competition...Rhydian sighed and thought of their fallen friends from over a year ago. "If only Veronica was still around...always was plenty of her to go around."
The twins were a bit weirded out by that sudden remark. "Yea..." they said together softly. If he recalled, the boys had lost someone very precious to them.
"We miss Antimony too.....now that my friend, was a babe." they sighed, hiding their sorrow behind a pair of dreamy smiles.
Just then Waya came through the door. She'd heard the last bit about Antimony as she came towards the door. She purposely didn't look at the twins and told Rhydian. "George is ready for you to check his code..." Then she noticed the strange subtle smell in the room. "What happened to Junior?"
Rhydian hadn't forgotten about Moe. They'd lost so many of the short years since the adults vanished...If you counted all of Veronica's forms, then the total came up to a staggering 11. He was just about to start in on the emo reminiscing stuff when Waya walked in. He hadn't realized he was holding in a breath and the moment she walked in, it came out in a sigh. "Oh?"
"Why do I smell Junior's blood?" Waya asked. She smelled again. "What did Maribele do?"
"She sneezed on him."
"Eliza's taking care of it." the boys said plainly, as if their worry had diminished about the issue.
"We didn't want to get in the way." Rhydian explained about as plainly as the twins
Waya's eyes were glassy for a second as she looked into what had happened by scanning the tops of Eliza and Maribele's minds. "He's seriously hurt." She told Rhydian, ignoring the twins. "Stable, but there are burns all over his arms and chest...'
"Well that's good." the twins said together. Last they needed was another friend dying for no reason.
"But I think it's best that everyone tries to stay away from kissing Maribel."
"Definitely."
"AM I FUCKIN' TALKING TO YOU?" Waya suddenly shouted at them. "Go fuckin' apologize to Gorge for the mess you made and get your asses upstairs and fix my fuckin' wall!"
"We already apologized!" Jayden said, raising his voice a bit. Although they both were extremely guilty and sorry around Waya, they couldn't let themselves be completely walked over for something that happened ages ago.
"He made us leave." Jaden added.
"Then go fix my wall!" Waya shouted at them, pointing, but not exactly pointing in the direction of her room. Pointing just seemed like the right thing to do at the moment. "And clean up that shit you left in the hallway."
Their hearts sank into their stomachs when she said that. They had worked through the night preparing that marvelous breakfast for her. Now they knew George was telling the truth, she really hadn't eaten or even touched it. "You mean you didnt...."
"But that was for..." they both couldn't finish their sentences.
"For what?" Waya asked, forgetting that Rhydian was right here listening to everything. "For some feeble apology? You decide you'll fix me breakfast like creeps are gonna make everything better? Are you fucking retarded?"
Rhydian just sat back and watched as the three of them got into it. He wasn't about to say how amusing he found it, let alone start laughing, but it was definitely getting hard not to.
The twins hung their heads to the right, not really wanting to say what they felt in front of Rhydian. So much for him anyway...he didn't seem to even care that Waya was being a total asshole at the moment. It was assumed by the both of them that she didn't get their note either. "We know it wasn't going to make everything better, but we want to try."
"And we will keep trying until it is."
"Yeah well it's not going to happen over night is it?" Waya asked angrily. It didn't take a telepath to know that they felt that she was being too harsh on them. "And you can wipe those hurt expressions off your faces." She snapped. "If I'm being a bitch you deserve every bit of it."
"Yes but being angry all the time isn't very good for you."
"Bad for the body and mind, you know." the twins explained, wanting her best interest at heart. "Next time we stay up all night to cook you something, could you at least have the heart to try it?"
"I'VE A RIGHT TO BE ANGRY!" Waya shouted at them. "Who the FUCK are you to tell me what's good for me?" She was livid, that was obvious. Her hands were shaking and they could see it in the fingertip she pointed at them. "You don't get to say anything to me." She growled. "You lost that right..."
"We have to talk to you."
"Nothing will be explained if we don't." they said, feeling a bit odd talking about this sort of thing in front of Rhydian.
"And it will never get better."
"I don't want an explanation!" Waya exclaimed, her voice holding back a tremor that they could hear. "I can see it! Every damn second of it like it happened yesterday!" And it did. For her it felt just as if it had all happened yesterday, on top of what Rex had done to them. "You want it all to go away, to say your sorry and make it all better. IT DOESN'T WORK THAT WAY!"
"We know that." the boys said, having to bear their own horrible spread of memories from Aztentos. None of which anyone knew about of course. "But there are ways to cope....and we can help you. Just give it a chance."
"What? Make me forget?" Waya asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "Don't you think you've done enough of that already?"
"No Waya! We won't ever do that!" the twins said quickly, feeling a bit uneasy with Rhydian in the room, not wanting to add the word 'again' to that sentence. Jaden and Jayden were standing from the couch now to reiterate their point. "You don't know the whole story."
She pointed to her temple. "We file shared remember?" She said. "I have the whole story... In surround sound." She left, but not before shoving Jayden on her way to the door.
But it wasn’t the whole story. There were aspects that she hadn’t leeched it seemed. Certain facts that may sway her opinion of them for the better. It was a shame, really. The twins sighed and looked at Rhydian, “Sorry about that man...women....” they rolled their eyes.
Rhydian was torn between going after her or staying out of her way...They'd known each other a long time, long enough for him to fall in love with her. Right now though he felt like she wanted to be alone. He looked at the twins suspiciously. "What did you guys do?"
"Ugh...you know Waya..." one twin began."Always bitchin' about something." added the other.“Seriously that girl gets so worked up!”“She’s going to break a blood vessel.”
"Yes, I do know Waya." Rhydian replied and leaned forward in the chair. "And I know she doesn't really get so worked up without reason. What did you guys do??"
"Personal matters.” Jaden said.
“She’ll cool down eventually. So much for her awesome apology breakfast though.” Jayden shrugged.
Rhydian sighed and shook his head. "Whatever guys...You had better get up there and fix her wall or she's gonna freak out even more."
“Ugh yea....probably.” the twins let out a long yawn and stretched their arms out. They were still exhausted, “The plaster mix is down by the danger room storage closets, right?”
"Last time I checked, yeah." Rhydian told them with a shrug.
"Keep her busy for us, would ya tiger?" the twins asked, placing their hands on their hips. "We'll start fixing that damn wall...it's her fault it's broken, you know." they added before heading to the hall.
Rhydian got up and left the rec room now that he was alone, and headed for the school kitchen
Rhydian followed after the twins' floating tree from the school entrance hall. "Seriously guys, can you blame George for being uneasy with all of us? We're just as uneasy around him really. It's what helps make me believe he might really be sentient."
The twins guided the tree over to the stand they had fished out of the closet. "Maybe... we tried to give him a bit of a pep talk when we were outside. There are enough bad vibes in this place as it is...we don't need another one." They lowered the tree into the stand, a few needles fell off. "Where should we put it?" they asked.
Rhydian focused and the stand moved the tree for itself, taking it to the center of the room and doing a pirouette before settling down. "The center of the room has always been my favorite spot. Looks like the tree agrees with me." He added with a smirk
"Perfect." the twins said, stepping back to get a good look at it. George sure picked a good one this year. "We were thinking about setting the place up for the annual Holiday dance...."
"...Do you think everyone else is going to go for it? We could make some cookies, snacks and punch."
"Heck, we can even have liquor since it's just us."
"I don't think liquor would be a good idea..." Rhydian said, shuddering at the thought of a pissed off drunk Waya.
"Why not? I think everyone could use with SOME inebriation. At least to let them open up." the twins explained, "If you recall, no one was very talkative at the Thanksgiving dinner we made."
"We just want everyone to relax and have a good time...for once."
"Don't you guys remember what happened the last time we all had liquor??" Rhydian asked them somewhat sharply. They had all pretty much got drunk up on Asteroid-M
"Well...everyone is going to have to drink at their own discretion."
"But I don't see anything wrong with one drink...to loosen things up a bit."
"It's just going to be an option I think."
"If anything." the twins went back and forth.
Rhydian shrugged and had to just give it to them. He conceded to the twins with a sigh. "So....decorating?"
"Yup. That closet." pointed Jayden
The two of them headed over with Rhydian and opened it up. "Ahhh...let's see..." They moved some things to the side and pulled out a giant plastic container, "Here is one of them" Jaden said and gave it to Rhydian.
"How many are there?" Rhydian asked as he carried the tote over to one of the room's many tables. He set it down and headed back to the closet for more. There isn't really much sense in unpacking one if there's more.
"I think there is one or two more big containers." Jayden said, moving some Halloween stuff aside on a higher shelf. This knocked down a big brown book.
"Watch it!" Jaden moved to the side, narrowly missing getting hit by the thing. "What the heck is this?" he asked, picking up what looked to be an old photo album.
"Not decorations." Jayden answered, moving more things around as he searched.
"Which usually means set it aside for later." Rhydian told Jaden with a smirk. "Can't get distracted if you want to get it done in time."
Jaden didn't really listen and opened it up anyway.
"Got it!" Jayden said, pulling out one container after the other. It was jam packed with ornaments, tinsel, lights, banners, bows, anything and everything to make a fantastic holiday ballroom look top notch.
"Awesome." Rhydian exclaimed, helping him out with the containers as they became visible from the closet. He quickly moved them to the table and returned for more
"Thanks so much for helping Rhydian... it's nice to have some company." Jayden said as he helped get things ready.
Jaden was stiff, paging through the old book, "Jayden...." he muttered.
"What's up?" his twin asked, prancing over and looking down at the book. He froze a little when he saw an old picture from the golden days of the X-school. It was a class photo and their parents were there...as students. Eliza's and Waya's parents were there too....and Junior's dad. It was a bizarre happenstance. "Hey Rhydian, check this out."
"An old photo album?" Rhydian asked, looking over their shoulders. "Oh hey...that's your dad there isn't it?" He was of course pointing to the guy with the fiery head.
The boys smiled, "Yessir. And oh god... look at Mom's hair. That's ridiculous. " Rhydian hadn't known any of their parents so he probably didn't care, but it was hard to tare their eyes away. "Can you guess who Waya's parents are?"
Rhydian couldn't help but look at the twins like they were stupid. It wasn't as if he was new here. Mr. Smith had been the guy who got him from the orphanage and brought him here when they were all younger. He pressed his finger to the photo, indicating the pale man with a trench coat and the beautifully tanned woman beside him. "Mr. and Mrs. Smith." He said quietly
The twins chuckled a bit, "Yea- it's that obvious, isn't it?
"That coat is so stupid looking." Jayden laughed, pointing to the trench coat. "I mean, who in their right mind wears a jacket like that now a day? Crazy stuff."
They paged through toward the back and the photos seemed to get a bit more personal than just of school photos. They were of the twins as toddlers, pulling Waya and Eliza around in a small wagon. Junior hadn't yet been brought to the school. "Awww...look how cute we are."
"Jeez, what happened?" Rhydian responded, looking down at the adorable little half-alien boys. He chuckled and waved a hand at the decoration boxes, "Maybe we should start setting up for the party guys. The pictures aren't going anywhere."
"Fine fine." the twins shook their heads and closed the book. "You know, it's too bad cute wittle baby Rhydian didn't come to school til he was eight." They set it on a closet shelf for now and proceeded over to the boxes of decorations.
Rhydian mumbled as he moved to the boxes. He didn't much like being reminded about his time between homes, not to mention the orphanage. The orphanage had always felt like home to him, but they continually sent him out to live with families that ended up sending him back anyway.
Just then Junior walked in with Jeremy behind him. "This a bad time?"
"Hey guys!" Jayden waved. "Where have you guys been all morning?"
"Come to help us decorate?" asked Jaden as he pulled out a stream of tinsel from one of the boxes.
Rhydian was glad that others had come by. He waved a hand at one of the boxes and the lid lifted itself up and off. The garland wove it's way free of the confinement much like a snake from it's nest.
"We've been helping Maribel make gingerbread houses" Jeremy said, waving the small bag of icing around before starting to suck on the nozzle again. He wasn't sure how to start this right now, considering how tense the situation was.
"She thinks we all hate each other..." Junior said, glaring at the twins for a moment or two longer than he needed to. "She wants to throw a Christmas party and try to get past some of this bad blood." Again his eyes lingered on the twins. "She also wants to go sledding. We've come to propose that we do all this and at least try to be hospitable with one another. For Mari's sake..."
The twins ignored the cold stares for the time being. Hell, they were used to them at this point. "But our Christmas party isn't until... Christmas."
"So you mean sort of a ...pre-holiday get together?"
"Maybe... yea..." Junior said nodding. "I think she just wants us to... be more like we were... before all this crap... She's only ever seen us fight and this is her first Christmas away from home..."
"I just... I think it would be nice to have one day where people got along" Jeremy said, scratching his neck and looking down towards the floor "Where people could... have fun you know? We just thought we could try..."
"You haven't talked to Waya about this yet have you?" the twins asked together, knowing that with their confidence, they hadn't.
"One obstacle at a time dudes." Junior told them.
"Well we're in!" the twins said with a thumbs up. "Sledding sounds awesome!" Decorating could be put on hold for a while. Besides, maybe they others would want to help out after a jolly good time of sledding.
"Rhydian?" Jeremy asked, looking over towards the boy and wondering if he felt like forgiving and forgetting a little.
Rhydian wasn't the one who was having a problem forgiving and forgetting. The garland slithered up and started to hang itself in various locations throughout the room. "Yeah, sledding's nice. We still have to decorate though. If you guys want an earlier party, I think we'll need a bit more help."
"OK... well I'll go talk to Waya and Liz." Junior told them. "Jer, you wanna stay and help and I'll be back when I'm done downstairs?"
"If you think that's wise" Jeremy said, nodding weakly to Junior. Waya was a bit difficult to handle. He didn't like the idea of Junior going to her alone.
Waya wouldn't do anything to Junior. Other than the twins he'd known her longer than anyone. Liz was a bit younger than they were but she'd known them all her life too. "I got it." He told Jeremy, heading through the floor as he spoke. Even if he didn't Liz had her ways of influencing Waya, though considering her mood lately she might have to do a lot of influancing.
The twins went to taking out a small box of ornaments for the tree when Waya was brought up. They kept themselves busy, not wanting to think of the way she would probably throw her show at Junior from the thought of hanging out with them.
Junior wasn't gone very long before he returned. "I think Waya is going to kill Eliza." He said immediately. "She didn't wanna come... Liz got a little... persuasive and then Waya went into her... that place... then Liz jumped in after her... She was really pissed... How do we get in there? We can't stop her!"
"Eliza jumped in after her?!" Jaden exclaimed.
The twins stood there dumbfounded, not really sure WHAT to do. "You don't think Waya would hurt her...." Jayden muttered, not knowing himself. It was hard to predict Waya sometimes, especially from recent events.
"I think the point was to get away from Liz before she could." Junior told them. "... This is all your fault."
"What?" the twins asked, in unison. They could see the fury held back deep in Junior's eyes and it was terrifying. They stood there frozen, a bit nervous with both Junior and Rhydian in the room.
Junior knew they wouldn't say anything in front of Rhydian, that's part of the reason he'd said it. "You're the one's she's pissed at." And they all three knew why. "Liz is trying to fix your fuck-up and Waya's gonna rearrange her face while she tries."
"Hey!" Jayden snapped back, stepped forward. "We never asked her to do anything like that so DON'T blame us!" He, for one, was sick of being scolded at for something that was no one else's business but theirs.
"I'm blaming you for Waya's attitude." Junior told them. Then he realized something. This is exactly what maribel hadn't wanted to happen. "Just... stop..." he put up his hands in defeat. "We'll do this later... now isn't the time to be hating each other. We promised to show Matibel a good day today remember?"
"You started it." Jaden countered, pulling out the rest of the tinsel from the box.
"Junior... Junior stop" Jeremy took hold of his hand, squeezing it tight to try and make him pay attention "Not today, alright? Not until we... know something's happened. Eliza could be okay, for all we know. She could be. Lets not throw blame around when nothing's happened yet, alright? Aren't we meant to be having fun?"
"That's what I just said." Junior told Jeremy. He'd said it, but he was still thinking it. He looked at the twins. "Truce... for today?"
The twins wanted to be friends with everyone again and a truce sounded great...though it was a shame that it was only to appease the french exchange student. They missed friends...just hanging out, going to the movies, the swimming pool... game night. None of that happened anymore. "Truce." the twins said together in a calm voice.
Junior offered his hand reluctantly, but he would be ok for a day surely...
Rhydian watched the three of them with disdain. He couldn't believe they were at it again. He knew the twins had done something to Waya, was he the only person who didn't know what it was? The Twins were glad he was here, glad. Nobody else seemed to act that way since they returned from Asteroid-M. Everyone, Junior included, had been pissed off at him and expressed it in their own way. Of course, Phinagin had the bluntest way of doing it, but still. The twins wanted him here to help set up and now Junior comes in and starts upsetting the uneasy happiness they were sharing for the moment?
The twins tore their eyes away and walked over to the giant tree with a string of lights. Their feet left the ground and started coasting around the pine, draping the lights on branches without another word. How could they be expected to act cheerful now?
Taking the angel out of a box, Rhydian moved over to the tree. "Heads up guys, here's comes the angel." He smirked and lifted his hands, the angel's little wings flapped and he winked towards the twins, surely they could figure out what he was thinking. He couldn't make the angel fly, but he could make it look like it was, while they provided the gravitational lift.
"Do you guys... need a hand?" Jeremy asked, standing there and staring at the others as they began to put things up. He understand if they said no, I mean, there were already three putting up decorations. he'd just get in the way. or something. He was worried about Eliza though.
The twins chuckled and allowed the little ceramic angel to soar around the tree a few times for fun before delicately landing on the tippy top of the pine. Rhydian still seemed like he was trying to have fun and ignore how rude Junior was just now. At least there was that.
Junior crossed his arms. Someone should go tell Maribel that they were on for today. All but Waya probably. He headed for the school kitchen to give her the happy news.
Rhydian couldn't help but chuckle as the delightful little angel went for a flew around the room. When the twins let her down into her place, he leg go of her, allowing her wings to cease their unnatural animation.
"Hey Jeremy- Want to start on putting the ornaments on all around the base of the tree?" Jayden asked. The twin's smiles came back as Rhydian kept his upbeat attitude and Jeremy seemed willing to help. They hadn't had helpers when decorating before.
"Or you could go in that box and grab out some holiday music for the stereo. You know... to get in the mood." Jaden said with a smile as he hovered around the tree, putting the string of lights in place.
"This is kinda nice guys." Rhydian told them with a smile as some wreaths rolled from the storage boxes and then climbed up the walls to hang themselves on the nails that were still there from previous years' decor.
"It's a lot easier and fun when there is help." the twins said together, circling around until they reached the bottom of the tree.
"We have to admit that we were a bit disgruntled when no one but George showed up to get the tree." Jayden said.
"But I guess we WERE awake a bit early in the day." added his twin, Jaden.
"Nevertheless, we are glad you guys are helping out now."
"Yeah sorry about that. I kinda slept in..." Rhydian said with a sheepish smile. He had just woken up and came downstairs when he met Waya on the steps.
She was there right now actually, standing in the doorway, watching them. If it was at all possible the lights in the room dimmed... or the shadows came up... Whatever it was Waya was standing in the doorway... Waiting.
When the twins saw her, their smiles vanished in an instant and they turned away from both Waya and Rhydian before silently putting some ornaments on the tree. They had tried speaking to Waya and making amends for weeks but that either got them strangled, thrown against a wall, or doors smashed in their noses. They had grown to realize that if they didn't want to get hurt, they should avoid making eye contact if possible. Surely Rhydian would notice the change in their behavior as it happened so quickly.
Rhydian felt the change of atmosphere as soon as Waya entered the room. A shiver coursed up his spine and he turned around to look at her. He couldn't help but smile, she just had that effect on him. "Hey Waya...did you come to help decorate?"
"No..." Waya said softly. There was less anger and avoidance in her voice than there had been earlier. There was more frustration though. "I've come for them." She said, looking at the twins.
The twins felt that same shiver run up their backs now when she said that. They looked at her, dreading what sort of battering they were about to face this time. Their eyes went to Rhydian for a moment, as if asking for his protection. Their lips parted and Jayden spoke first, "Why?" he asked, trying to be as emotionless as possible.
"You keep saying that we have to talk." Waya said, trying not to make full eye contact. "If that's changed... I'll just go..." And she turned, prepared to leave, almost thankful that she didn't have to deal with this.
"H-hold on." Jaden says, stuttering nervously a bit. The boys looked at Jeremy and Rhydian, "I hope you guys don't mind if we break for a minute?"
Rhydian looked at Waya and then at the Twins. He didn't like the idea of them alone together...she was soooooo angry at them. He looked at the guys and shook his head. "Go ahead guys. We'll probably just take a break. Holler if you need anything guys. Seriously."
"They won't be able to holler." Waya told him and stretching her arm forward the tree of them were transported into Waya's shadow realm.
"He-hey... where's Eli-" Jeremy flinched back as Waya made herself and the twins vanish. "I... hope they're alright" he said, chewing on his fingernails nervously. She wasn't going through all the students one by one now was she?
"I don't think she'll kill them." Rhydian told him with a confident smile, though he was still nervous for his friends. He turned and looked at Jeremy, "So you excited about going sledding? You know it's pretty cold outside dude."
"Yeah... I think we're either... going to sled in the danger room, so it's not too cold... or we're going to get me some nice big thermal cloths first." the thing about Jeremy was that, he was so slim that most big fluffy clothes just fell right off him. He would need to be wrapped up like a mummy.
"There's always the X-suits. Climate control, form fitting, you shouldn't feel the cold unless it's below zero out there." Rhydian offered him with a shrug as he pulled some shelf decorations from one of the box
"Isn't it below zero?" Jeremy asked, looking around at the windows "I mean, it's snowy and frozen still. I mean, I didn't know about the suits and all. I'd do that, if I knew. They just said that it would be easier in the danger room."
"I mean below zero degrees Fahrenheit." Rhydian explained, just because there was snow didn't make it below zero on the Fahrenheit scale. "It's about time you got a suit anyway, Jeremy."
"Ah... right... Well I have my own suit," Jeremy said with a shrug "I suppose we could do that. Just got to talk to the others about that really." He hated being so changed by the cold... his powers kept him way too thin.
"Trust me Jer, nothing beats the real deal. No matter how high tech the danger room gets, it still pales in comparison to the real stuff." Rhydian replied with a smirk
"Considering that we use that room as simulation against the worst situations and the most difficult of fights, I don't find those words very comforting" Jeremy said dryly, pulling a face that indicated that he was sure they could have fun in both places.
"Don't get me wrong dude, the danger room has lots of wonderful programs not used for training purposes. But the sledding ones? Ehh...not so nice." Rhydian told him with a shrug, "Getting out there on some real fresh powder, nothing compares."
"I'm not the one to convince" Jeremy pointed out "I've already agreed. It's the others you should talk to about this."
"I'm sure they'll see it my way." Rhydian explained with a smile. "They were probably thinking about you and the cold when they thought of using the danger room anyway."
"Well..." Jeremy said with a shrug "I'll talk to them when I next see them. Does that mean that you're going to be joining us? It would be rather fun. I hope."
"Did I forget to mention that part?" Rhydian asked him with a smile. It was nice that they were all starting to act friendly again
"Just making sure" Jeremy said with a small nod "Seeing how far we can push this friendly thing." He hoped it continued on afterwards.
Rhydian nodded, he was hoping pretty much the same thing that Jeremy was. He hoped everyone wasn't just putting on a happy face for Maribel.
Maybe it would continue on until Christmas. That would be good. Christmas of happiness. Jeremy smiled gently at Rhydian before saying "Got your presents sorted out?"
"Had 'em for a while now." Rhydian told him confidently. He thought of himself as a pretty good shopper, he knew most of his friends nearly his entire life, if he didn't know what to get them for Christmas, he was a really awful person...
"I'm a bit... uncertain" Jeremy admitted with a small shrug, chewing his lip with his slim, rather sharp teeth. "I mean, everything's been so high strung lately. I want to get everyone something equally, but I can barely approach people to ask what they want."
"You still have a little bit of time Jeremy." Rhydian said with a shrug. "I like to read, if it helps."
"Testing. Testing..." Junior's voice said through the old loudspeakers, "You're listing to the sweet sounds of those golden oldies from the 60's 70's and beyond." After a pause Junior's voice came back saying: "Hey guys, if ya'll wanna meet in the entrance hall in... ten minuets we'll decide what we're gonna do..." That sounded less cool that the sweet sounds of the 60's 70's and beyond, but it got the message over.
A few moments after the broadcast Waya entered the rec room, looking much less agitated than she had earlier. "Hey Jeremy... can I talk to you for a second?"
"Well... Considering Junior's still alive..." Jeremy said gently, starting to move over towards Waya carefully. If he hadnt heard that anouncement over the tanoy, he probably wouldnt have gone with Waya. She still worried him.
Rhydian felt his heart jump into his throat when she came in. So she didn't kill them...but now she was wanting Jeremy? What the hell was going on...
Waya pulled Jeremy to the side and spoke low enough she was sure Rhydian couldn't hear them. "You... remember what happened while we were still... in the waiting room?"
The..? Oh, yes, that. Of course." Jeremy's expression was serious, but a little worried. He kept having to force his eyes towards Waya because they had been searching desperately for Rhydian's help. "What... about then?" he finally asked.
"It seems that I was mistaken about a few things." Waya told him. "My telepathy is still... well it could be better and I got a few things wrong. Just... They didn't do anything wrong and It's only fair that you know..." Though Junior had brought up the fact that the twins had likely just hypnotized her to believe she'd been wrong... There was that, but Waya seemed much less ... volatile than she had these last few weeks since Rex had appeared.
Rhydian could tell that Waya wanted privacy, but he couldn't keep his eyes off her. He wanted to know what was going on. Half the people here at the school seemed to know, why was he the one being left out?
"How could you say they did nothing wrong?" Jeremy asked, a frown spreading across his brow now "After everything they've done. You think that they have done nothing wrong?" He didn't know everything, but they had done something. Some terrible things. What could change her like this?
"They didn't do it." Waya told him. "At least not in the way I thought they had... They're not saints no, but the way I thought things happened didn't and it's important that everyone who knew knows..." God she hoped that made sense.
"I'm going to have to interrogate them about this, aren't I?" Jeremy sighed, eyes flicking towards the doors "because you are making barely any sense. Just answer me this. Did they, or did they not, do..." Jeremy made a mumbled coughing noise as he rotated a hand in embarrassment "against... your will? Then just..." he waved a hand over his face, making a wooshing noise to indi ate a mind wipe.
"Not against my will..." Waya told him, admitting that she'd been intimate with the twins, but they hadn't made her. "But I did ask them to wipe my memory afterwards... That's why I've been acting like a nutjob. When I found out in the waiting room the block kept me from understanding what really happened. I asked them to remove it..." Should she explain to him that she'd not really gone to them of her own free will? That her full moon episodes had grown increasingly volatile...
"Well... that's good then," Jeremy said with a weak smile; things still seemed fishy to him, like how badly junior had reacted. "I think Im going to still talk to them though, alright?" he tried to smile at her, but still found it difficult "not that I dont trust you... I just... Dont really trust them alright?"
"Alright..." Waya told him, but she really wished he wouldn't. She didn't want this getting out of hand and she was still a little confused about one or two little things. Emotions rather than memories or thoughts, but still... confusion was confusion.
"Where are they?" Jeremy asked gently, looking around towards the door again. He really needed to figure this out. Things were just too messed up right now. He just wanted to get this out of the way so he could just... Know.
"I think they're in the kitchen." Waya told him.
"Right. I'll... Be right back then," Jeremy said, giving Waya a reassuring smile before starting off towards the doors. He really needed to go see the twins about this.
Waya waited for Jeremy to leave before vaulting over the back of the couch and landing in a laying position. Hopefully her damage control had worked, if not, she really hated to do this all over again.
"So not even gonna say hi, I take it..." Rhydian replied from where he was in the room. He sighed and plopped the decorations that were in his hands back into the box. "I don't know what's worse...everyone being mad at me or being ignored by the one person who wasn't..."
"Hi." Waya said and waited for him to finish before responding. "I'm not the only one who isn't mad at you. Phinagin isn't everyone Rhydian."
"You didn't see them, Waya." Rhydian replied walking over to the couch. "I betrayed all of you...Phin's just the only one who's still holding it against me."
"You didn't betray us." Waya reminded him. "You let us think you did so you could take out Cortez. I never believed you would do something like that for real and anyone who does is an idiot."
Rhydian couldn't help but smile as she defended his actions. "If only that was my only reason behind it though. Liz is mad because I didn't go to her about it. Junior's alright now, but I know he was mad because I didn't say anything about it either..." He sat down across from her and sighed. "And now everybody seems to have a secret and I feel like I'm the odd man out."
"The secret is mine and no, you're not the only one who's out." Waya told him. "There's just a few things that everyone needs to forget. One of them being Asteroid M and the other... The other isn't important..."
"If it happened to you...it's important..." Rhydian replied quietly, finding it hard to look at her when he said those words. He looked away and rubbed the back of his head.
"It's not important because it didn't happen the way I thought it did." Waya told him. "It was all screwed up because my telepathy is shit. Now I know what really happened and it's not as bad as I thought it was..."
"Okkk...cause that's not confusing." Rhydian said with a smirk. He shrugged, "It's fine if you don't want to talk about it. But I'll listen if you ever change your mind Waya. I'm here for you...always." He looked right into those sapphire eyes of hers as he made that promise.
Waya didn't take that how he meant it. Long ago Rhydian had ended up in the "friend zone" and at the moment she only took it as his devotion to their friendship. "You say that now." She told him. "But if you knew you'd probably hate me."
"Never happen." Rhydian told her with a slow shake of his head. He leaned forward to emphasize his point, "I could Never hate you, Waya..."
Waya smiled. "Thanks..." She told him, but he said that not knowing what the secret was. She decided to leave it there lest he decide to press more.
There it was...that smile...Rhydian couldn't help but smile after seeing that. "So...sledding huh?" He offered a change of subject, not wanting their little one on one time to really come to an end.
Waya made a sort of scoffing sound. "Yeah... Though I don't get why they wanna do it in the Danger Room when our suits are climate controlled."
"That's exactly what I was telling Jeremy." Rhydian said with a chuckle. He ran his fingers through his hair and looked at her again. "So we are doing it in the Danger Room?"
"I duno." Waya told him. "I guess we'll find out when we meet them in the entrance hall... which," She looked at the clock. "Would be right about now."
Rhydian sighed and looked at her sadly. "Do we absolutely have to go right now?" He was looking forward to sledding and hanging out with everyone again, but he was actually enjoying just sitting here talking with her....
"You'd rather be fashionably late?" Waya asked. She sat up and crossed her legs on the table.
"If it meant staying here with you..." Rhydian said quietly as he relaxed back in the chair. He couldn't believe he had just said that outloud....
Waya didn't know what to say about that... maybe she hadn't heard him right...
Ceasing the moment, the twins walked in with Eliza and a silver tray in their hands. Following their arrival was the scent of tomato soup. The boys saw Waya and Rhydian speaking alone and did their best to think nothing of it, though... they were fully aware of his crush on her. "Hey!" they smiled, "Got your lunch! Nice and hot."
"Hey there guys" Eliza said, waving at the others with a slightly sleepy hands. The twins looked a little battered, a small bleeding lip and bruises shared between the two of them; Eliza had been rather surprised by them in the room.
"Oh..." Waya said as she saw the twins. It was odd not shunning them in the presence of others, but she managed to resist the fleeting urge. "Thanks, but you didn't have to bring it to me..." Grilled cheese and tomato soup... she was glad they hadn't put themselves to much trouble.
"Of course we did." the twins smiled. One of them seemed to have a slightly fat lip while the other's cheekbone was red and a bit puffy. Other then the visuals, they ignored their recent scuffle with Eliza. With a lift of the lid, the boys presented Waya with a full bowl of fresh tomato soup, dappled with pepper and a small parsley in the center. Around the bowl on the plate was a grilled cheese sandwich cut into four triangles.
Rhydian couldn't help but scowl when the twins came in with Eliza. He had wanted to be 'fashionably late' if it meant staying with Waya for a little while longer, and he had said it too! And then they had to go and walk in. He couldn't help but feel as if they had chosen their timing on purpose. He also couldn't help but notice that she didn't snap at them when they brought her food, that was unusual. He glanced at the tray of soup and grilled cheese and then at the twins, "Nice display guys."
"Were you hungry too? There is some soup left in the pot." Jayden replied, handing Waya her plate and bowl.
"Homemade~." Jaden encouraged. "But you should hurry up if you guys want to go sledding with everyone."
"Nah, I'm fine for now. You guys gonna make something later? I think Maribel would probably enjoy a home cooked family style meal." Rhydian replied looking up at the two of them. He knew they had practically buried the hatchet on the whole Asteroid-M situation, but right now they were practically the bane of his existence. A little harsh, true, but right now...at this very moment, that's how he saw them.
"Oh of course." Jaden said.
"We just whipped that up for Waya since she was hungry. If you have any suggestions for dinner, feel free to let us know." Jayden reminded. "We already have steak and chicken in the fridge thawing."
"Steak sounds good guys." Rhydian replied with a nod. He did enjoy steak very much, and the two of them sure did know how to cook...
Eliza might have tried to bury the hatchet, but the blade still stuck out of the ground and was a very big threat to those not wary. That was why she decided to speak to Waya instead. "You feeling alright?" she said, blinking a few times "Last thing I really remember... was passing out in your realm..."
"I'm ok." Waya told Liz. The sandwich was already gone and she was sipping soup from her mug with a little more speed than she probably should have. She'd not really been eating lately and once the sandwich hit her stomach she'd realized she'd been starving. "I got it all sorted out..."
The twins smiled as they watched Waya eat their meal. To be honest, they haven't seen her chow down on their food in weeks. It was a pleasant sight.
"I heard... a little bit late." Eliza motioned to the twins, their bruised and battered forms having been completely ignored by everyone "I'm glad it all worked out though. You seem to have quite an appetite from it."
"I've not had much of an apatite lately." Waya admitted. She then noticed that the twins looked as if they'd been knocked around. "You did that?" She asked Liz.
"Well... they surprised me" Eliza said with a small blush "And the last thing I knew about them made me... startled." That was the polite word.
"We're fine, we're fine," the twins repeated, waving their hands. They didn't want Waya or the others to get too concerned about them. Besides, Eliza smacking them around wasn't anything in comparison to when Waya did it.
"So when are we going?" Rhydian asked curiously. He was of course talking about this sledding trip they were all intending to do for Maribel.
"I'm ready." Waya said tipping her cup up and finishing off her soup. Whether they went to the Danger Room or outside she was dressed for the occasion. Cold did not bother her in the slightest. Her mother being a feral never wore anything heavier than a light jacket and her father... well both her and Kurt's temperatures ran at a cool 78 degrees. Waya would be fine in her jeans and hoodie. She would however change out of her vintage airwalks into something a little more durable.
"I might need something over this," Eliza said, waving at her lab coat, which she still wore "But I think moths ate my last sweater. Have you got a spare, Waya?"
"Your uniform should keep you warm." Waya told her. "But I've got at least a dozen hoodies you can try out... so long as you stay away from the ones on the right side of the closet. Those are the vintage ones."
"I think we are going to suit up." Jayden and Jaden said. With Kari and Jayn for parents, they often preferred to be in warmer temperatures for obvious reasons.
"While I'm tempted to see what a vintage hoodie is, I think the suit would be a good idea" Eliza agreed with a nod, giving a small smile to Waya. The girl seemed a lot better right now, a lot more so than the wreck of a person that Eliza had met before.
Rhydian got to his feet sadly and looked at Waya. "I guess I better go get suited up as well...."
Just then Junior pulled Maribel through the door by means of their linked pinkys. He was surprised to see that almost everyone was here. "Someone tell this girl how I was born." If he said "Tell her I'm a clone." Someone probably would and that could have just been a cue to cooperate in a practical joke or something. After the last practical joke he played on Maribel he certainly wasn't about to pull another.
"Do you mean the genetic splicing of the clone procedure, or just the general fact you're a test tube baby of the Relmans all put together?" when they were separate they were Lyra, Jayn and Will; together, they were the Relmans. Even to Eliza "I don't really know much about how they separate the DNA strands to stop genetic abnormalities in clones, but I imagine it must be tediously slow..."
Junior really seemed to be steering Maribel all over the school today. She was a bit alarmed to see everyone in the rec room instead of the entrance hall. Perhaps no one wanted to go sledding after all? Both herself and Junior were suited up in their x-uniforms, his being a bit more revealing...consisting of nothing but shorts. When Eliza spoke, she started to believe that perhaps Junior really was a clone as bizarre as it were.
"Did she see your belly button?" the twins asked together.
"It's a navel." Junior said with a frown. He was a little touchy about it. Other kids had made fun of him for it when he was younger.
The twins silently took notice of the way Junior's pinky was still wrapped around Maribel's. The couldn't help but wonder what that was for. Not to mention the odd nickname 'Mari' they had heard him say earlier.
Maribel gently tugged her finger from his grasp only in order to ask, 'Why were you cloned at Genoshia?' she asked, both curious and concerned. She had heard nothing but bad things about that place.
"I don't really know." Junior told her. "They were trying to build the perfect slave or something like that."
"Dad told us that they were trying to make some sort of super mutant goon squad by combining his DNA with his siblings...luckily they rescued him before they could make any other copies." Jayden began, hoping Junior didn't mind the further explanation.
"They wanted someone impervious to heat and flame, the ability to pass through solid objects and the ability to keep working by drawing energy from their environment." explained Jaden.
"Beats us where the red came into play." they shrugged with grins on their faces, resisting to mention Junior's double digets between his legs.
Maribel lifted her head and parted her lips slightly, slowly understanding as the twins elaborated. She thought for a while, thinking this all sounded like something out of a sci-fi movie, then again,...what since her coming to the X-school hasn't been? Lifting her hands, she signed to Junior, 'Looks like the Genocians didn't do a very good job...' before he could take offense, she added, 'You are much too charming and kind to have ever carried out their evil deeds.'
Junior smiled, his teeth rather bright against the red of his complexion. If at all possible he became even redder.
Rhydian couldn't believe that Maribel was having a hard time believing Junior's tale. Maybe the red guy should just drop his trousers and show his secret. That double trouble should be enough to make her believe anything he says, if not at least she'd forget about his origins.
Eliza blinked at the others as they explained about Junior's condition "Ah, he's always been around though. He's one of the family after all, even if he was a test tube baby." She went over to Junior, giving him a little hug "He's a little weird, but what family isn't?"
Maribel nodded in agreement to what Eliza said. Her family didn't have any clones in it, but it was weird nonetheless. Heck, her family just recently acquired a spider mutant. 'Is everyone coming sledding with us? We haven't yet decided whether or not to go into the danger room or outside.'
Junior grimaced and rolled his eyes as Liz hugged him. "Alright, alright..."
"Ok, all this lovey dovey crap is about to make me vomit." Waya told them. She may be feeling better but still, she didn't like this mushy stuff on the best of days. "I'm up for sledding Maribel, but I vote we go outside. The hard light used to create the holograms sometimes irritates my skin."
'Would anyone be oppose to the idea?' Maribel asked, looking at the others.
"Jeremy maybe... he doesn't like the cold." the twins explained, "But if we all wear our x-suits it shouldn't be a problem."
"Outside. The real stuff is better." Rhydian said, moving to stand beside Waya to better indicate his vote.
"Does anyone even know where Jeremy is?" Junior asked. The twins should know considering they;d spoken to him last, but Junior didn't know that.
'We are still missing Phinagin too and....George, if you guys are alright with him coming.' Maribel added.
"We just saw Jeremy in the kitchen. Donno where he went from there." Jayden said.
"And George seems rather depressed. Apparently robots can be depressed." Jaden mentioned as well.
The word "marvin" cross Eliza's mind, but she decided not to mention it. "Well, maybe Jeremy is getting his suit or something? That would explain why he's missing" she said, looking around at waya "Any reason why george wouldn't want to come sledding? We should try and cheer him up a bit."
"I think he thinks he's the cause for how I've been acting." Waya said. She'd gotten over that relatively quickly. "I tried telling him it wasn't his fault."
"Maybe we can do something for him?" Jayden asked, almost in disbelief of what he had just said. This was the vile being that raped their love after all...but if she accepted him, they would have to as well.
"Oh and I forgot to mention... we talked to him about it when we were cutting down the christmas tree...can we get him a more, human body? One that will make him feel more like, one of us. So that he can at least fit in the building and not lurk around outside. He seemed eager enough on the idea." Jaden looked to Eliza, "Think we can do anything like that? Or call up someone to commission?"
"Well, we don't just have those parts lying around. we'd have to contact someone about it," Eliza said with a small nod "I think it said Starktek on him somewhere, so we should contact Ironman about it. Would probably do him some good to get inside. Though... he can get inside the entrance hall, so I wonder why he doesn't sometimes."
"Still... we think he would feel a bit more inclined to if he didn't look like some sci-fi alien monster." Jayden said insensitively.
"Maybe we could nix out some of those weapons too." added his twin.
"It would be nicer if he had a smaller form." Rhydian agreed with a nod, though the thought of removing some of his weapons didn't sound right to him, it would be like de-clawing a cat.
"He had said he wanted to think about it." Waya told them. "The less he's like that thing that he is, I think the more comfortable he'll feel around us." And by us she meant her, but if he got melted down to nothing tomorrow, she wasn't so sure she'd feel very bad about it.
"We thought one of you guys could make the call. Maybe Eliza since she is good at all that tech stuff." the twins said.
'Maybe I should go into the entrance hall?' Maribel signed, 'Maybe Jeremy and Phinagin are waiting there?'
"I think we all should." Junior said, to everyone. They sometimes had a tendency to ignore Maribel because you couldn't hear her speak.
The twins nodded, "We'll go get our suits on." and headed off.
"that thing that he is?" Eliza repeated, gazing at Waya as if she was worried about the girl again. It was as close to racism as she'd heard the girl get.
"You know, the big robot type thing that-" That raped her, but Waya clammed up. She knew George wasn't responsible for what he'd done. He'd only been following programming. Now he didn't have that programming. "What Rex turned him into..."
"But he's had that removed. He isn't that any more. You did it yourself, with a screwdriver," Eliza said gently, nodding to Waya "So he isn't that thing any more. He isn't that thing that he is. He might resemble that thing that he was."
Rhydian looked at the two girls curiously. He held up a hand to make them stop, "Ummm...before you two make me even more curious about what the hell has happened, I'm gonna go get changed."
"Think of it like loosing a bunch of weight but still wearing the same baggy clothes." Waya told Liz, ignoring Rhydian. Rhydian knew what George did to her, everyone did. She just wanted to get rid of the body that had done it.
"No... I think of it more as losing a lot of weight, but still keeping the same skin as before..." Eliza said, wondering how Waya could compare someone's body to clothes "What you're asking him to do isn't a paint job. It's plastic surgery."
"The twins brought it up." Waya said defensively.
"They said he might want it..." Eliza pointed out slowly "Not that it might help him look less than that thing that he is." Those words had obviously shocked Eliza more than she had let on. Maybe it was just the sleeplessness making her grumpy.
"Bad choice of words then gah." Waya grumbled. "You think I wanna look at the thing that... Rex conjured up if I have to? No I don't hold it against him but it doesn't make it any less aggravating."
"Just... be careful with the words around him. It he's really depressed we don't want him to take a fire axe to his own motherboards. I don't want to see the first case of robotic suicide." Eliza was gazing at Waya with a little worry in her face still.
"I have been." Waya told her. "I talked to him just a little while ago and told him to chill out. I'm not gonna do anything to make him commit suicide."
"Good... well, I just... he is, as far as I now, the only sentient robot out there" Eliza said with a small shrug "You talked to him earlier though? What did you exactly say"
"I told him that he wasn't the reason for the way I've been acting." Waya told her. "That's why he needed to chill out."
"Alright... alright, so what else have you talked to him about since you've come back?" waya was this robots only connection really. Eliza wondered if George was going to feel as if he'd been dumped here.
"Nothing..." Waya told her and she wasn't actively using her telepathy, but she got the jist of what was on the top of Liz' mind. "And he begged me to bring him with me. I didn't make him."
"Still..." eliza said gently; maybe she had more machine empathy than some of the others, but she worked with them a lot more. "I mean, he seems depressed... you just assume that it's got to do with you..." Eliza pointed out with a small shrug "I suppose you can talk to him when we're sledding... if he comes sledding that is. Any reason he wouldn't come sledding?"
"I doubt he will." Junior said piping up. "He sort of hid behind Maribel when we were outside earlier."
"See." Waya told her. "He hid behind her. I think that pretty much spells that he's afraid of me."
"So if everything's fine with him now, why don't we ask him again?" Eliza asked, getting a feeling that there was more at work here "I mean, you said you had a word with him. So why not ask him again, after this has all changed, you know?"
"I asked him half an hour ago." Waya said, "I doubt he'll change his mind."
Maribel waved at the girls and looked at Junior for a moment. She cocked her head and headed out to the entrance hall, hoping he would join her.
"I just... don't want him to be the only one missing out" Eliza said with a small shrug; seemed rather lonely for his first Christmas, and if the twins had said that he would want a change to fit in, why wouldn't he want to come sledding.
Junior saw Mari leaving and decided to follow her. If Liz and Waya were gonna gab all afternoon let them. It was time they had some fun.
"He's been invited." Waya told her. "If he chooses not to come it's his fault for missing out."
Eliza made a small "hmmmm" noise and shrugged, though was clearly still a little troubled by this "Alright. Should we go get our suits on?"
"I don't need one." Waya told her. "You go ahead I'll be in the hall."
"Alright" Eliza nodded to Waya, leaving to go get her suit on so she would be able to sled with the rest of them.
Stumble!