Beautiful Morning with You

The corners of her mouth were strained. The sour taste in her mouth caused her body to twist and turn in the hard wood chair she currently sat in. Standing behind her was a young blond male, pressing his fingertips against the temples of her head. Every reoccurring memory that ran through her head were like nails scraping against a chalk board. When the male went to press further into her brain, the blonde woman would let out a grunt. Well, actually this wasn't the only thing that would be released. For a brief moment, a shock wave of cosmic flames would send the telepath flying back and away from her; like some sort of subconscious protector for the young female. The woman, named Tara, would reach up and grasp her head with both hands. The headache made her vision blurred, and she was on the edge of vomiting right onto her lap. Pressing her hands to her mouth, the young blonde's eye would twitch. In a low mumble beneath her hands, the young woman would final address the telepath. "Any luck?" The blond man stood up, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm okay, by the way, and no. I can see the memories when you had your powers, but when I try to push further to see what happened with your abilities; your mind sends out a distress signal. When that happens, I get some burns cause of those annoying cosmic flames." Tara raised a brow and bit her thumb. "And I get the worst hangover of my life. To be honest, maybe this was inevitable. I got my powers from a formula; maybe karma is finally taking them away from me. Maybe it's saying 'ya did good kid, but the responsibility isn't yours anymore'.." Tara crossed her arms over her chest. "On one side, I'm upset I lost my powers. They were my birthright. The only true way I could be my parents living legacy. To make them proud of me. But without them, I feel like a burden has lifted from my shoulders. When I hear someone needs help, I don't have to run out and save them. Burning building? It's not my responsibility to go pull the people out. I finally feel human." Before Tara realized what she said towards the end, the girl would bite her tongue and look towards the male. This was a school of mutants and here she was talking about how human she felt without her powers. Without the responsibility that came with them.

The man rubbed the back of his neck and gave a smirk. "Well that does make sense. I'm surprised you're here helping the Professor when you could be out living a normal life." Walking towards the door leading out to the gardens, Tara would give a slight laugh beneath her breath. "My life will never be normal. Not like I'm complaining or anything." The young woman would leave the building and get a breath of fresh air. The sun was bright, and things finally seemed abit more peaceful in her world. With the constant attacks on mutants and people with abilities, Tara had wanted to dedicate her life to restoring order and balance between the two species. Since Mayday was a mutant, she found herself compelled to help her little sister's growth in a world that would reject her when learning the truth. Tara, herself, would also be rejected if they had known she was previously Miss Flash. Even with all the good deeds she had done in California, there would always be ones who would want to burn her at the stake. She took the job of being an article writer for numerous newsletters across the world. Her articles were primarily based around mutants, but through in some other events so they weren't suspicious of her interest in the new species of people.

The school grounds were usually covered in mutants playing games, hanging out, and heading to class. There was a rule on campus that involved powers only being used responsibly, but of course children broke these rules on a daily basis. Tara had met Professor Kagan thanks to the Macreedys and wished to understand her sudden block from her abilities. In return for his help, the female decided to stick around the school grounds and help young mutants learn responsibility and self control for their own powers. Though she was technically just a human playing mutant, she did her best as a teacher's aide and student herself. Walking out towards the tennis courts of the school, the blonde would turn to look towards the foundation that kept all these children safe from the harsh and cruel world.

So much for a beautiful morning. Devon wasn’t responsible for it. He hadn’t impressed his desires on the earth, but sometimes it didn’t matter. Sometimes his emotions made their own impression, churning up storms or burning up already hot temperatures.

It had been a long journey. It had started with a letter in his locker at the YMCA. Devon had been scared at first. How did anyone know where he was enough to send him a letter? He half expected it to have been from Samael. Who else could have plucked his hiding spot – well, more his shower spot – from his head? But it wasn’t from the pushy psion, it had come on the letterhead of a school: The Institute of Progressive Development.

The letter detailed a school for the wealthy with the best opportunities money could provide a young person in education. However, it’s what the letter didn’t say but rather inferred that got Devon’s attention. This Professor Kagan talked about mentorship, about seeking treatment for personal issues and how they affected a successful person’s talents. He noted that while he knew Devon could explore and enjoy any location in any climate, he felt that Malta had what he needed. It was a controlled environment in a way that Devon could one day appreciate, if he so chose.

Feeling like his privacy had been torn away, Devon sat in the shower for over an hour at first. He didn’t know what to do but he couldn’t deny he was interested. What had he to lose if it turned out the school was bullshit and the Professor just wanted beautiful weather for his school 24/7? Devon was discovering new abilities nearly every day, his mind racing with possibility as he felt more of the world within him. Every breath expanded his perceptions, but every day he felt like a greater danger.

He flew out onto a cruise bound for Europe, sneaking on and relaxing merrily. He kept the weather brisk but bright, a winter trip that Devon didn’t understand why anyone would pay for, but pay they did. Illegally then he flew into France, skipping off the cruise and then high above he flew on to the booted country of sappy wine-country romantic comedies. Italy was beautiful but he didn’t stay long.

He was getting anxious now. He was worried this entire trip had been a waste. He didn’t know what to expect and he was worried he’d expect too much. He didn’t want to just be let down again. Let alone, if this person could contact him so easily, how dangerous would he be? Devon didn’t want to join a cult of super-powered supremacists. He wanted his privacy, his freedom… This place would take all that away.

So as young Tempest flew through the air, his foul mood spread through the sky. Gray clouds gathered overhead, blotting out the inspiringly warm rays of the sun. A dreary drizzle cane down lightly upon the island of Malta. The dark of a rainy day descended, bringing with it soured expressions, slothful day naps, and ruined sports games. In the far distance of the cloudy sky even thunder could be overheard.

The breeze picked up as Devon came dropping out of the heavens. His hair was slicked, numerous curls wetted to his head. His backpack and duffle were strapped to him, his only possessions as he came to enroll – seemingly – at some school for the professionally attired and unredeemably wealthy. What was he thinking? What were they thinking? These questions had put him in a pessimistic mood.

Granted the weather change came over a period of ten or so minutes, following the mutant as he flew, but there’d been no talk of rain in the forecast that day. Even Devon could not deny it shouldn’t be, but he couldn’t keep his emotional state from influencing the world around him, not when he was busy flying anyway. It was just rain anyway. Can’t handle some gray clouds then you couldn’t handle life.

The winds that held him slowed, fluttering his hoodie and kicking up his hair, as well as the grass, as he landed on a plot nearby a beautiful Venetian-style class building. A teenaged set, a girl and a boy, were rushing eagerly toward the building though they looked up in surprise as Devon landed. He glowered at them as his black eyes faded to not so common azure blue.

Devon didn’t see Tara immediately; he was looking around, trying to figure out where to go.

((OOC:
Bipolar Disorder: Depressive state. Next three threads can be normal.
No percentage chances necessary at this time. ))

Tara watched the dark clouds slowly make their way towards the school. From the information taking from various weather reports, it was supposed to be a perfect day for outside activities. When students began to run for the building to escape the showers, the blonde teacher's aide suspected it had something to do with a child playing a practical joke with his powers. Long ago, Tara had believed she was the only one with such abilities. Well, actually that was far from true. She knew there were mutants in the world, thanks to her father's research, but she never expected their powers would be so..well..powerful. Over her years of heroics, Tara had come across a rogue gallery of mutants who seemed to have the world in their fingertips. There were those that could influence time, those that could manipulate the world around them...Even those that could bend things with a mere thought. Now that Tara was, more or less, human; she couldn't help but feel a slight fear of what the mutant population could do to the world if they were to become hostile. Would humanity even stand a chance against them? Maybe not, but after working at the school for a few months, Tara could clearly see there were people there who truly had a good heart. It was easy for people see a person shoot from the ground and into the sky at mach 7, summon storms, and think of them as a god among men. Luckily, most mutants never had such a thought about themselves.

The sound of a flapping wing was heard over head as a young mutant, by the name of Angel, descended from her flight and landed infront of Tara. "Did you get a good look of the weather up there, Angel?" The young blonde woman would place her hands on her hips as she watched the younger blonde wring out her hair. Not like that would help, since the rain was coming in right behind her. "I tink we call it the phrase "rains rains and more rains" teechar?" She had such an adorable accent, it made Tara want to pinch her on the cheeks. Reclaiming her composure, the teacher would tap the young student on the head and point towards the doors. "Tell everyone to start heading inside. I guess we'll have field day alittle later...Or after the Professor makes it sunny again." Tara chuckled beneath her breath as she placed a hand on her hip and looked back out towards the fields. Scanning the area for any other students, her eyes caught the glance of a boy and girl with another young one that didn't look so familiar. "That's strange. I don't recall freaky hooded visitors here earlier.." The woman thought to herself. Either way, she'd make her advance towards the trio of 'students' while raising a hand. "Hey, hello? You guys need to get indoors. The weather looks like it's getting bad out here. We'll have to postpone field day for the time being." Her keen green eyes would shift to her corners to look towards the boy in the hoodie. "I've been working here for about a month or so, but I've never seen you around these parts. What's your name, kiddo?"

Devon shot a hard look at the two students staring at him. He didn’t know what they wanted but he didn’t appreciate being stared at. His brow lifted and his eyes widened, begging to know what the hell they wanted. He cleared his throat and looked away.

He looked away and to a petite blond that was approaching. She was likely a hundred pounds soaking wet and soon to be. Devon wasn’t very good at guessing weight but estimations were simply that. She was pretty though, her blond tresses a stark contrast to the green of her eyes. They were more vibrant in the dark of the rain, sparkling almost but sharp like emeralds cut at a severe angle.

It appeared she, like the two students eagerly scooting off, had expected a fair day in the sun. While she’d wisely avoided a white blouse – as it was now raining – the black was an interesting choice, nearly up to her neck but short sleeved and sleek. A skirt – or were they shorts – done in khaki and striped in deep midnight blues implied even more of her supposed intentions. Devon had interrupted something.

The way she called to them didn’t sound like a student. Was she a teacher or faculty? He had to guess both and it was affirmed, even if she was new by only a month. Devon blinked and frowned. This definitely wasn’t the Professor.

“Kiddo? I’m twenty years old,” Devon nearly hmphed back at her with an annoyed tone. “My name’s Devon. I’m looking for a Professor Kagan.” He reached up and pulled back his hoodie, the mass of wet black curls momentarily shaken free though they quickly grew plastered to his forehead. He wasn’t trying to stop the rain or the breeze from flowing over him; he let it happen. He welcomed it.

“Look, he sent me a letter, so here I am… Can you show me around?” he turned his head, glancing around as the rain continued to fall upon them. “I want to know if this place is good enough to stick around and I flew a long way. And no,” he turned back, smirking, “I don’t have a suit or whatever.”

((OOC:
Bipolar Disorder: Depressive state. Next three threads can be normal.
No percentage chances necessary at this time. ))

"Twenty years old? Pshaw, don't get ahead of yourself, kiddo!" The woman gave a sort of laugh, as she waved her hand infront of her face to dismiss the thought. Before her power loss, Tara was the type to over analyze things with her super charged thinking. However, now that her head had finally slowed down, her thinking process was abit more normal. Well normal, or abit slower than normal. But let's not get into that. When she heard the Professor's name, the young blonde would raise a brow towards the newcomer. "Here to visit the Professor? Is he expecting you?" She was asking all these questions, but it finally dawned on her that speaking out in the rain wasn't the best idea. "Well, umm..Follow me inside, buddy. We can continue there." With that said, the young woman would open the door to the building and lead the young man in. "Sure, I'll show you around the place but I can't tell you everything. That's a job for the Professor. Just like you, I'm sort of a visitor here." Once both of them were in the building, Tara would lightly tap her forehead like she had forgotten something. "Oh yea, I didn't introduce myself did I? You can call me Tara Macreedy. If you're here, I'm guessing you must be a special case kid? A..mutant..in other words?" The woman let out a grunt from her poor wording. "Smooth, Tara. Calling a mutant a 'special case kid' is just so smooth!" The woman thought to herself and sighed. "So when did you find out you were a mutant?" She got right to the point, as she began to lead the young man down the hallway, heading straight towards the Professor's office. "You were born with your abilities, right? No one was running tests on you for you to acquire them, I mean?" That specific question was more geared towards her own fascination. Unlike most the mutants in the school, she wasn't born with her powers. Infact, her powers came from the suffering of other mutants at her father's hand. She didn't approve of his methods, but the formula he created that saved her life was a byproduct of his research. All this would catch back up to her family when her father would be killed by the very mutants he had used in his experiments. Atleast, that's what her uncle told her. One would think she'd grow to hate all of mutant kind, but instead, she had a sort of resent for the government that pressed her father on to do the work.

Kiddo was Devon's new least favorite nickname.

This girl was proving simultaneously what he expected and not what he expected. She was forward and friendly as he expected, but neither staff or faculty. She was a sort of visitor, whatever that meant. He wasn't even sure why she'd fluttered her hand around. Maybe she had strange eyesight or some sort of deficiency. Worst of all possibilities, maybe she thought she was funny.

Either way, he followed his welcome committee inside. "Yeah, the letter. He sent me a letter," Devon reiterated. No, he hadn't called but if the man could already find him, Devon didn't need to make it easier to be stalked. Who knew who had designs on him, especially after that foolish foray down to South America. His arm was still bothering him and maybe that's part of why he felt he needed to take a few steps forward. Well, that and a few other things. A lot had happened in a short amount of time.

Stand in the rain and talk, go inside and talk, it didn't really matter though he was interested to see more of the school. It was buddy now but at least that was better than kiddo. Maybe she was from New England. He did want to find the Professor sooner rather than later, otherwise this felt more and more like he was walking into a trap. The girl certainly wasn't making it any better.

His eyes widened and stared back at her dubiously when she called him a special case. "Yeah..." he paused, "Tara," he punctuated the word, "I'm a very special case kid." He smirked but nodded eagerly, the sarcastic tone of his voice matching the mocking motion. She was trying to be nice but this was proving awkward. "You must be from Human Resources or Public Relations, huh?" he joked.

Following her down the hall, he tried to glance into rooms. He was looking for clear details like happy students - or students period -reading books, nice classrooms, comfortable surroundings, no bars or guns. You know, a school not from the inner city. He strained his neck and moved perhaps a few paces slower than her to draw out the indirect tour.

"What?" Devon stopped, his voice louder as he asked the word in astonishment. He crossed his arms over his chest as thunder rumbled suddenly outside. "If anyone tries to run tests on me, I'm not going to be the one unhappy with the results!" he shouted. Taking a step back he shook his head, "Do you even know what a mutant is? Yes, I was born with my powers. I found out years ago...

"Are you a mutant or did you just wander onto the island?" he glared at her. What the hell was going on here? Outside the wind picked up and lightning began to dance in the heavens, illuminating gray clouds and flashing over the darkened island. "You aren't, are you? They trying to take powers here or something?" he asked pointedly.

((OOC:
Bipolar Disorder: Depressive state and getting upset.
No percentage chances necessary at this time. ))