W.I.T.C.H.E.: Evolution

By: Sokai

Disclaimer: I, Sokai, do not claim ownership to the workings of W.I.T.C.H. - I leave that honor up to Elisabetta Gnone. Nor do I own Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's X-Men series franchise (even though this story isn't even really related to the series, at least not super super directly, anyway. Just don't want to hear law suit claims LoL). However, I can and DO claim to own this story and its inspired ideas FROM both series.

Note: Happy Summer, everyone! Sorry I kinda vanished! Been on holiday the last few months, first to Disney World with Gray-Ham's/hubby's family in May, then a mini holiday to Six Flags, just the two of us. =) But since it was a Father's Day season pass, guess we'll be going back 'forever,' now, starting in a few weeks with the Tornado Babies, actually. HeHe

Anyhow! I'd wanted to update before then, and had started to, but because I had to iron out a few unfortunate kinks within a specific area of this story, where stinky Phobos is concerned, my brain just wouldn't let it go . . . even though for once, Musey (what I call my muse LoL) was like, "No, no! I've got you, just go! Keep the momentum, love!" But, nope. Brain said, "Funk youuuu! Not doing NOTHIN' 'till we figure this OUT!" . . . which TRULY aggravated ME, personally. LoL =/

But, yeah! Finally, I was able to tell my brain to SHUSH, we've nearly fixed things, so just let the idea I'd had for this chapter just FINISH, already, so's you guys wouldn't have to wait forever, yay!

So, I hope you all enjoy this MASSIVE update, review, and have a lovely rest of your week! =)

P.S. Also the usual apologies in advance if I'd unfortunately STILL missed some things during editing – Tornado Babies were working OVERtime this time around to super distract me and, "Here I am! Here I am!" me to death. . . .

Sigh. LoL

This chapter was created in May 2019, and finished in June 2019.

Chapter Eleven

While normally she hadn't any real issue with her fifth period gym class (especially considering that it was her final period at Bayville High School, before then she'd then conclude her daily scholastic routine back over at the institute), today Cornelia was really wishing she had chosen to stay in bed.

She was, after all, still ill with a cold, and Elyon had suggested that Cornelia remain on bed rest, just to be safe.

And although she really was still feeling a tad drained, Cornelia had prided herself on possessing a stellar record where her lack of absenteeism was concerned, and so, in good conscious, could not have brought herself to follow through.

Now, however, finding herself face to face with her private rival for Elyon's affections, Cornelia desperately fought off the urge to inflict untold violence upon the poor schmuck. . . .

She honestly would have been fine, or fine enough, anyway, as the pair obviously regularly shared their gym class together every other day of the week, anyhow.

This was nothing new.

What was new, however, was the fact that Cornelia had to literally grin and bear listening to Elyon go on, and on, and on about her surprising telephone conversation with Caleb yesterday, and how he had evidently asked her out on yet another date. . . .

To be fair, Cornelia generally didn't really enjoy listening to repeated gossip from her other friends and housemates, as it was, so her lack of inner enthusiasm was to be expected.

However, she already had to listen to Elyon carry on about it yesterday morning, then again later on that afternoon . . . and then randomly, right in the middle of dinner.

Oh, and once more right before bedtime.

So, considering all of that, with the added bonus that it just had to be about her secret crush's second date with a guy who was so completely wrong for her, and it was all Cornelia could have done to stop herself from jumping off of the shuttle bus during that morning ride to Bayville.

No, instead, Cornelia had done what she normally did regarding Elyon's newfound feelings toward the undeserving Caleb: remained supportive, then sprinkled in a few comments to further convey general interest, before doing her best to casually change the subject.

There was nothing she could do about it, after all . . . well, short of somehow secretly chloroforming Caleb, before then shipping him off to Abu Dhabi, anyway. . . .

All Cornelia knew for sure was that she couldn't stand this incredibly jealous side of herself, as it made her both think and feel all sorts of ways she never even believed that she could.

Still, at least it was mostly thoughts and feelings for now, something she could, and did continue to reign in as best she could.

God forbid she ever have another mishap of the same height as the earthquake she'd briefly created last week . . . and that hadn't even been about her general dislike toward Caleb, to boot.

Crazy to think that that had been over my . . . I guess, sort of my now former tension with Irma, as we're now not only roommates, but soon-to-be teammates as upcoming X-Men. It all feels like a lifetime ago, almost, Cornelia couldn't help but muse, casually smoothing down the white colored t-shirt of her school issued gym uniform, as she continued making her way toward the open bleachers in order to take a seat and wait to hear what today's latest activity was going to be. Hard to believe that all it had taken was nearly destroying this school before she and I would finally get along. Now, if only the same could be said for Caleb and I . . . although I suspect that it would take a whole lot more than that, twice over. . . .

"All right, good morning, class! So, last week we'd just concluded our circuit training which, I'm sure, a lot of you are secretly thrilled about," Cornelia listened in time to hear her teacher, Miss Murphy, begin as the last few students trickled into the large gymnasium, "so this week, we'll be starting our badminton tournament! And because I'm so nice and you all adore me, I'll let you guys pick your teammates this time around!"

True, honestly no one really enjoyed doing circuit training, an event which usually resulted within a great deal of 'convenient' absenteeism.

It was also true that, by comparison, a good chunk of Miss Murphy's students conversely did enjoy playing badminton (or volleyball, or especially dodge ball, Cornelia had noticed over time), mostly because none of them ever really took it too seriously.

Despite it being referred to as a 'tournament,' It was largely used as a time to kick back, catch up with friends and, at least, try to successfully hit the birdie.

Strong emphasis on 'try,' as majority of the students within Cornelia's particular gym class were rather lazy, despite several being active members of varying sports teams. . . .

Regardless, today's period was thankfully going to be a leisurely one, overall, something which Cornelia, and her rather congested head greatly appreciated.

"Hey, hot stuff! Wanna pair up?" Cornelia turned her now mildly throbbing head toward her left in time to witness Tabitha sauntering over with one of her usual, amused smirks spread across her face.

Cornelia admittedly used to wonder if the fellow blonde was secretly on any sort of illegal substances when they'd first met, Tabitha was just always that much 'entertained' by nothing in particular.

But then, she supposed the same could be said about Irma, after all, as she, too, somehow could always find the humor from out of the most mundane activities, and have the time of her life as a result.

No, barring Cornelia's previous ignorance, that was just the way both girls appeared to be by default, and considering that Tabitha in particular preferred living more on the wild side, it was a personality trait which certainly boded well for her specific . . . explosive mutant abilities, to be sure.

"O-Oh, hey, Tabitha, good morning. S . . . S . . . Achoo! U-Ugh, God, did that really hurt, sorry. . . . Sure, as I was trying to say," Cornelia responded weakly with a grimace, reaching up to gingerly clutch at both sides of her now pounding head as her overall congestion regrettably carried on.

Tabitha briefly pouted within sympathy, before politely handing hew new partner one of the badminton rackets which had just been wheeled out onto the floor.

"A-Aw! Poor Sprout, bless you! That was a pretty wicked sneeze, there, though. Ya sure you should have come to school with an apparently gnarly cold?" she asked within genuine concern . . . although the small, but growing simper of resumed amusement spreading across her face was one both blondes were fully aware was due more toward the fact that Cornelia was never an honest fan of the unfortunate nickname Tabitha insisted upon calling her, more often than not.

To be fair, Tabitha had given pretty much everyone she knew random nicknames here and there over the years, especially during her brief tenure at Kandrakar's School for Gifted Youngsters.

According to her, it was an act mainly reserved for those she truly liked "and actually gave a damn about."

And although Cornelia had long ago pointed out that Tabitha also bestowed different names to people she didn't appear fond of, as well, thus contradicting herself, it was a habit which nonetheless stuck.

Still, despite having grown used to the name, however begrudgingly, Cornelia still didn't understand why her given nickname had to be one which sounded so . . . pitiful, something she was quite certain Tabitha had done on purpose.

"Hey, I think it suits you, given your particular brand of powers! Besides, if you don't like it, I could always call you something else like, I dunno, 'Broccoli' or something, instead!" was the halfhearted explanation she had given at the time, before Cornelia had simply given up trying to further negotiate.

"Mm . . . thanks, Tabitha. And yeah, it's definitely shaping out to be a pretty stubborn cold, but I think I'll manage in the end," Cornelia replied with a nod, gently taking the racket from out of Tabitha's hand after climbing down from off of the bleachers, at the same time that the other girl suddenly began to chuckle.

"Well, that's certainly true, isn't it? If there's one thing I've learned about you over time, Sprout, it's that you are one 'take charge' kinda babe! I'm not honestly surprised that you'd come to school, even though you're basically on your deathbed right now," she remarked with another laugh, leaning in to playfully wrap a free arm around Cornelia's neck and quickly interrupted her obvious objection by adding, "Oh, don't worry so much about it, will ya? Trust me . . . I like that about you."

Cornelia suddenly found her mind drawing a complete blank, as she honestly wasn't sure whether or not she was within some sort of warped dimension, as it now appeared as though Tabitha was unexpectedly flirting with her.

It wasn't even really the flirting part which surprised her, as Tabitha was, by nature, rather flirtatious, anyhow, coupled with the fact that she was also openly bisexual.

It was the fact that she never before appeared to express much interest within Cornelia beyond that of mutual acquaintanceship back when they were still housemates, before then eventually growing to become official, casual friends later on.

She was, quite frankly, not honestly Tabitha's type.

Or, so she had previously believed, anyhow.

Moreover, Cornelia's own sexuality had never really been broadcast, either, so it was admittedly both alarming, as well as interesting to her that Tabitha had suddenly appeared to pick up on the vibes Cornelia didn't honestly before realize she'd even been putting out.

. . . . Maybe she really was growing rather sloppy with her habitually maintained subterfuge regarding her overall friendship with Elyon, after all.

As Cornelia was about to muster up some form of response, especially considering the ongoing, knowing sort of stare Tabitha was presently bestowing onto her in between purposefully fluttering her long eyelashes as she did so, she was thankfully saved by Miss Murphy's default friendly sounding voice.

"Everyone paired up? Got your rackets? Okay, here we go! This side of the court stays put, while the other side will rotate until each team has been played against!" the young woman stated with a nod of her brown colored head, a clipboard now within her small hands. "As usual, I'll be jotting down the names of said teams, and keep track of all the wins and losses. Let's see if we can't get a really heated match from some of you this time, eh?"

As Cornelia managed to slip free from Tabitha's purposefully lingering hold, leading the way toward the nearest badminton net on the non-rotating side of the court, she regrettably looked across the opposing side in time to witness Caleb curiously heading straight toward her. . . .

". . . . Oh, God. What fresh hell is this, now?" she groaned underneath her breath as she did her best to appear neutral toward the tall brunet's sudden approach.

Next to him was his apparent friend, Eric Lyndon, someone who was honestly the complete opposite of Caleb in every way - Within Cornelia's opinion, at least.

She didn't really know much about Eric, in truth, as she only shared that specific period with him, and the two had only shared a few handfuls of previous conversations together, as a result; still, she did at least know that she liked him far greater than she ever would Caleb, to be certain.

But then, Eric wasn't the one presently going after her best friend, naturally.

Actually, the more Cornelia thought about it, if Eric had ever suddenly grown an interest within any of her friends in general, she could definitely see herself getting behind a 'shipping,' as her peers would say, between Hay Lin and himself, seeing as Eric was almost like a male version of her.

At least, based upon the limited knowledge and observation she'd gathered about him thus far, anyhow.

She had to remember to ask Hay Lin if she'd ever met Eric before, herself, and if so, what she thought of him.

But first, Cornelia had to somehow deal with whatever it was Caleb apparently wanted from her, if he was making an active point to infrequently interact with her, directly. . . .

". . . . H-Hey, Cornelia, Tabitha. Wanna play against us first?" Caleb asked with a light, friendly smile, and . . . was that . . . yes, it was.

A curious splash of red began creeping up his traditionally tan neck, before settling onto both of his cheeks as he continued to stand in front of both girls.

Was he . . . embarrassed?

What the hell for?

It certainly wasn't as though the two blondes in front of him were the ones he'd been woefully sniffing around this entire time, after all, so. . . .

"O-Oh, and also, uh . . . Cornelia, if you wouldn't mind, could you give this to Elyon whenever you see her next, please? Thanks," Caleb asked quietly as he leaned in close to Cornelia so that an admittedly nosy Tabitha couldn't eavesdrop, before carefully placing a neatly folded up piece of notebook paper with Elyon's name written upon it into Cornelia's hand.

"Good luck, you guys! Although, Tabitha, you still owe me a rematch from the last time we played basketball against one another in the park two weeks ago!" Eric stated cheerfully with a nod, chuckling as he watched Tabitha blindly tuck a few strands of her bob length hair behind her multiply pierced right ear and playfully winked.

"Hey, what can I say, 'Ric? I just have a natural talent for getting certain round objects where they need to go," she remarked mysteriously with a shrug, then flashed a broad smirk toward Cornelia, knowing that she'd naturally understand the hidden meaning, by comparison.

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes at this, in addition to possibly vomiting toward the sight of what was most likely an honest love letter sickeningly resting within her open palm, Cornelia could only offer up a stiff nod within acknowledgment toward a sheepishly smiling Caleb.

Absolutely horrendous.

Great. Now I'm seriously meant to be playing a direct hand within this jerk's ongoing . . . whatever you wanna call this, with Elyon? Right. Because that's so totally what I wanted to wake up to this morning, on top of an increasingly annoying cold, Cornelia grimaced inwardly, blindly placing, honestly jamming Caleb's note into the left side pocket of her blue colored gym shorts.

"Let's play!" she suddenly heard herself practically growling out before she could stop herself, as she basically stomped over toward where Tabitha was now waiting patiently for her teammate.

"W-Whoa . . . rage, much?" Tabitha murmured to herself with a confused smile, before gently handing over the birdie to a now deeply frowning Cornelia. "Here. Wanna serve, instead? Might help release whatever's suddenly gotten your panties all in a twist, Sprout."

"No, I don't wan – ! Wait . . . actually, yes, I do, Tabitha. Thanks," Cornelia initially snapped, before retrieving the birdie from out of the other blonde's hand with an eerie sort of calm, as though an unknown revelation had suddenly settled onto her.

If you can't beat 'em . . . decimate 'em, she thought momentarily, the naturally competitive streak within her rearing its ugly head as it effortlessly awakened to the surface just then, her blue eyes nearly boring a hole straight into Caleb's unsuspecting head before gearing up to deliver the first serve.

Within the next seven minutes, the allotted time per match as indicated by Miss Murphy, both Tabitha and Eric unexpectedly found themselves trapped within a battle for the ages, as they could only watch and, minutely, in all honesty, support their respective teammates from time to time as both continually duked it out . . . for whatever the reason.

At first, Caleb, and indeed Eric and Tabitha merely thought that Cornelia was simply having a bit of fun, actually bringing her A-Game to what both sides had originally assumed to be every bit as leisurely as majority of the other competing teams had made their own matches.

However, considering how many times Cornelia had nearly taken off the brunet's head within just the first minute or so after each resulting serve, all bets were completely off as suddenly Caleb, too, found himself meeting the tall blonde straight on, rather unflinchingly.

Back and forth the helpless birdie went, nearing speeds the other airborne projectiles would thankfully never experience by comparison, as the honest one on one match between Cornelia and Caleb carried on, with the score somehow remaining remarkably tied.

Now, with only one minute left to go, Cornelia was absolutely determined not to lose . . . and sadly, based upon his incredibly serious facial expression, so, too, was Caleb.

But, this was Cornelia.

If she could handle intense training sessions within the Danger Room on a weekly basis, in addition to having just helped save hundreds of people from impending doom that past Friday, she was pretty certain winning a simple game of badminton was far beyond doable. . . .

As Cornelia served for that final time, letting out a loud, honestly unflattering grunt within the process, she felt positively confident that it'd be a guaranteed miss for the other side, given that she'd made a strategic point to suddenly serve it within the direction of Eric, who'd honestly been on standby for much of the match.

Caleb, however, appeared to be having none of that, as Cornelia surprisingly watched as he quickly lunged in front of his teammate, intending wholeheartedly to set up the return, himself.

Oh, no you don't! Cornelia thought with a deep glower, suddenly finding herself quickly 'influencing' Caleb's racket via her Geokinetic abilities before she could stop herself.

"W-Whoa!" Caleb cried out within understandable alarm as his racket abruptly jerked itself toward the opposite direction of where he'd originally placed it, causing him to then effortlessly miss the birdie altogether and allowing it to land onto the ground, unopposed.

Successfully securing the winning point of the game, both Cornelia and Tabitha let out excited cheers of triumph as Cornelia allowed Tabitha to eagerly envelop her within an elated embrace, at the same time that Caleb uncontrollably fell onto the ground due to his suddenly redirected momentum.

"H-Hey! You okay, man?" Cornelia could hear Eric call out within natural concern, before rushing over to help an understandably befuddled Caleb back onto his feet.

"I-I, uh . . . yeah. Yeah, I think so, thanks, Eric," he replied in between heavy breaths, wiping away the beads of sweat which had previously accumulated above his thick brow during the previously heated match. "It was just the weirdest thing, though. I had that last serve, you saw me, but . . . I dunno. Suddenly, it was like my racket had a mind of its own or something, because the next thing I knew it felt like it was pulling me the other way before I could do anything. . . ."

"Mmm, yeah . . . how 'bout that, right Cornelia? Sucks, though! Still, it was a pretty kick ass game, especially since me and 'Ric didn't even really need to do much!" Tabitha declared with a mischievous grin upon releasing the now blushing Cornelia, eavesdropping on the boys' conversation as both girls made their way toward the net in order to shake hands with them.

Eric let out an amused chuckle at this, and nodded.

"Yeah, totally! What was up with that, anyway? It was almost like I was watching an Olympic event, or something!" he teased with a playful jab into Caleb's side, who bit down onto his lip as an honestly suspicious sort of frown toward Cornelia lightly formed onto his face. "But, hey! Either way, awesome game, you two!"

". . . . R-Right. Good game, and . . . good final serve, Cornelia," Caleb slowly stated, his mind clearly still engrossed within the previous mischance, as he nonetheless extended his hand out toward Cornelia in order to display good sportsmanship.

Seeing this, Cornelia rapidly found herself feeling all the more guilt ridden, as she'd once again allowed her emotions to cloud her overall better judgment.

It was a stupid game, for God's sake!

And yet, instead of simply reminding herself of this that entire time, she not only allowed her competitive side to get the better of her, but she'd also utilized the admittedly lesser practiced side of her Geokinesis, by consciously manipulating the metal within Caleb's badminton racket!

Frankly, Cornelia was rather surprised it had even worked, as that part of her mutant abilities had always been weaker, as it was regrettably a bit of a private challenge for her to habitually manage as effortlessly as her main gifts.

It was pretty frustrating to her, to tell the truth, as she didn't like possessing any personal shortcomings if she could help it, after all, and so Cornelia would regularly find herself more so focusing upon further strengthening her Geokinesis, versus what Professor Starlighter had informed her was referred to as 'Ferrokinesis,' after upon having first manifested the advanced ability about a year ago.

Still, if it was so 'advanced,' then Cornelia would think that she'd be a bit better at it than she presently was.

Regardless, at the very least, she was able to manage manipulating another person's racket at precisely the right moment . . . even if she now felt like honest scum for having done so.

". . . . T-Thanks, Caleb. Uh . . . good game," Cornelia managed to muster within reply, quickly taking Caleb's outstretched hand and shook it, before hurriedly heading back to her original spot on the court as she waited for the rotating side of teams to shift over. "God, do I really suck. . . ."

"Nah, I don't think so, babe!" Cornelia nearly jumped as she suddenly listened to Tabitha disagree from behind, before moving around to stand in front of her. "No, I'm serious! It's nice to know that you can really cut loose every now and again when you want to! First that earthquake last week, and now this! Man! All this really makes me see you in a whole new light. . . ."

Cornelia blinked within surprise, her cheeks growing hot all over again as she quickly did her best to feign ignorance.

Obviously suspecting that she had used her Ferrokinetic abilities upon Caleb's badminton racket was one thing, but the earthquake?

As far as she was still aware, no one of the mutant variety had yet to settle upon a conclusive suspect for it, and had more or less moved on from generally wondering about it, anyhow.

There was the latest event of what had occurred during Karmilla's frighteningly derailed rock concert that past weekend to now preoccupy their minds, after all.

Still.

Had Tabitha been somewhere within the halls that day to see it happen?

It wasn't as though that would have been that much of a stretch to believe, as the hallway hadn't been entirely cleared out at the time.

Well, whatever ended up being the case, Cornelia was simply going to continue playing dumb, on both accounts.

"I-I . . . I have no idea what you're talking about, Tabitha!" she replied with a light frown and turn of her head away from the now giggling Tabitha, who then gently rested a hand onto her shoulder.

"Hmm . . . sure you don't, Sprout. But, hey, no worries. I always enjoyed a good challenge," she cooed with another grin and knowing, heavily coquettish stare, blue eyes twinkling as she made her way back to her own spot on the court by Cornelia's side.

Of all the things Cornelia had expected to experience that Monday, even including suffering through the giddy ramblings about Caleb Elyon was undoubtedly going to now bestow onto her tenfold after receiving his note, suddenly catching the keen eye of Tabitha Smith was definitely far off her list.

And as of right now, she couldn't really say if it was a good thing.

Then again . . . if Cornelia actually thought about it . . . she also couldn't really say that it was necessarily a bad thing, either.

Now back within the institute, continuing on within her newfound, typical school day, Will was presently sat within her Sociology class which she thankfully shared with Taranee, alongside her other new companions, Hay Lin, Cornelia, Irma, and even Elyon.

While not technically a boring class, it certainly was shaping out to be pretty complex thus far which, as their instructor, Doctor Chacon had pointed out, was of little surprise, given its overall focus.

Still, it was pretty neat, as well as useful that Will could share such a class with the group of girls who were now not only her future teammates as X-Men, but were now each considered actual friends.

Friends.

It still felt pretty weird to believe that, let alone think it.

But after everything they'd all experienced during that past weekend, alone, Will felt rather confident for a change that her growing relationship with the others wouldn't be anywhere near what had been the case back home. . . .

Will lightly smiled to herself as her mind couldn't resist momentarily drifting back to that Saturday night, and how much fun both she and Taranee had had during their renewed slumber party, especially once Will had this time also invited Hay Lin to join them.

She originally had done so in order to help alleviate at least a bit of the smaller girl's natural concern for Irma, who had still remained within the infirmary at the time; however, as it'd turned out, it was a pretty smart move on Will's part, as Hay Lin was somehow even more fun to be around during a sleepover than she admittedly already was on a normal basis.

Will was quickly beginning to see why she was Irma's closest companion, to be sure.

And not only did she end up learning quite a bit about both Hay Lin and Taranee that night, but Will had also observed firsthand just how talented Hay Lin truly was within art, as she'd already begun drafting up various designs to the girls' upcoming X-Men uniforms.

"I just couldn't resist and wait until the morning, I hope you don't mind, Will! But the inspiration just keeps flowing through me!" Hay Lin had excitedly explained as both Taranee and Will had watched over her shoulder within absolute awe over how well, and how quickly she could draw.

It honestly reminded Will of Elyon's own artistic talents, bringing her back to the day they had met for the first time.

She'd had to remember to ask Hay Lin if she couldn't also somehow see the future through her drawings, or whatever that had been when Elyon had eerily sketched out Will's impending arrival into the pool area, mere moments before having even done so upon that fateful day.

Quickly shaking her head, forcing herself to resume paying attention to Doctor Chacon's ongoing lecture, Will looked back toward the chalkboard in order to continue writing down the various notes the older woman had been presenting.

". . . . and so, seeing as this particular unit's topic is on social institutions, we're gonna try out a few exercises relating to this, before I assign you the project which will be due within a few weeks, all right?" Will tuned in in time to listen to her instructor conclude, watching her carefully dust off her hands free from chalk before clearing her throat. "All right! So, first things first! I'm gonna need you all to stand up – With your notebooks and pens or pencils – and head on to the back of the classroom, toward the activity tables, okay?"

As this was only her second week within that particular class, this would be the first time Will actively participated within any of the apparently frequent group activities and discussions both Irma and Hay Lin had previously informed her which took place.

So she was honestly wondering what Doctor Chacon presently had planned, in addition to if Will would be lucky enough to be placed within the same group as at least one of her newfound friends.

"'Kay, nice, nice! Um, okay! So, since there are eighteen of you in my class, we're gonna break off into three groups, today, consisting of six people. I need all the guys already conveniently clumped together on this side to sit right here, thank youuu . . . then you lovely ladies can just plop yourselves at this table over yonder, and then, lastly, our mixed bag of guys and gals can sit over there! Great! And – Oh, wait. Shoot. We'll be down one person today, won't we, since Elyon is absent? Hmm . . . well, it's all right. You five can still discuss everything just fine once we get underway!

". . . . Good, good. All nice and settled down? So, the first discussion we're going to have is going to be about marriage, mhmm, and each group will make a list of ten characteristics which describes the ideal marital partner. Order it from most to least important, all right? And once you've finished this you'll share it with the class, before we'll all then decide which groups had the easiest time agreeing on what was decided, and which groups had it the hardest. Then – I know, it keeps going – we'll also identify any key differences or similarities within the characteristics and rankings from each group . . . and then lastly, we will discuss which types of social influences, or factors might play a part within said similarities and differences. . . . . Phew! Mouthful! But, all right! Everyone understand what to do? I'll pass out this sheet which outlines literally everything I'd just explained, which you can then take your time looking over as you get down to work!"

". . . . Blug. I'd decided not to stay within the infirmary another day for this? I'm not trying to think about marriage, of all things right now. I'm too busy being single, and ready to mingle for God's sake," Irma quietly groaned, swiping down a palm against her face upon having carefully set down the pair of crutches she'd been issued against the empty chair at her side.

Although thankfully already about sixty or so percent of the way healed, according to Doctor Chacon earlier that morning, the woman had still wisely urged Irma to take it slowly as much as she could.

Irma was also in between dosages, and so was presently coming down from the cloud of euphoria she'd previously been drifting upon since earlier on that morning, hence the mild crankiness which was clearly beginning to settle in within its place.

Still, the extra attention and flood of ample concern from a good chunk of her schoolmates, both from Bayville and around the institute hadn't hurt much, either, so Irma supposed she couldn't readily complain, overall.

"'Single?' What about AndrewHorrnssby? Didn't you say that he'd profusely apologized for leaving you behind on Friday – Especially after seeing that you'd evidently gotten injured as a result – and even asked if you wanted to grab a bite to eat after school today?" Hay Lin innocently asked, although still not without a teasing smile and gently tapping the tip of her pen against Irma's good leg, as the two friends now sat next to one another at their assigned table.

Irma lightly scoffed before rolling her eyes at this.

"Pfft! Chyeah, he did, Hay Hay. Damn right, he did, after all this . . . although, okay, yeah, so in the end that was most honestly for the best that he'd headed for the hills. Literally. Still, asking me out again is the least he could do after everything, right? Just sucks I'm gonna have to shoot him a text later to reschedule, as I'm still way too bushed to go anywhere at the moment. Once I've fully healed up, though, he'd better watch out," Irma replied with a light frown at first at the memory, before it effortlessly melted away into one of mischievous amusement, clearly toward the thought of her upcoming second date with the popular senior.

". . . . Jesus, what is with everyone lately and constant dates all of a sudden," Will overheard Cornelia suddenly pipe up at her left side, although she clearly had intended for it to be a private comment.

This was pretty much the first time that the tall blonde had said much of anything since they'd each entered the classroom earlier on, her mind seeming to be elsewhere - And indeed, even now.

It appeared to be a steady occurrence for the apparently serious girl lately, Will was quickly beginning to observe, and thus already knew better than to push the issue upon having received no more than a halfhearted 'hello' at the start of that period.

Now that they were luckily paired off together, alongside their mutual companions, Will privately wondered if she shouldn't go ahead and take the chance to ask whatever was the matter, after all.

Appearing to sense her current train of thought, Taranee, sat upon the other side of Will, gently cleared her throat as she leaned forward a bit against the round table and asked, ". . . . Are you all right, Cornelia? I mean . . . I'm only asking because you just seem really distracted right now. Since before the beginning of class, actually. . . . Did something happen?"

"Y-Yeah. Is your cold super bugging you today?" Hay Lin chimed in within similar concern, causing Cornelia to promptly snap her head up away from the instructions Doctor Chacon had just finished placing in front of each student.

"W-What? O-Oh, uh . . . yeah. Yes, I'm fine you guys, thanks," she murmured with a now thoroughly congested voice, causing Irma to begin softly cackling as a result. Rolling her eyes heavenward, Cornelia then continued, now annoyed. "Okay, yes, obviously, I'm still pretty sick, unfortunately. Ha ha, Irma, yes. And yeah, I honestly wish I'd remembered to take some more medicine after I'd gotten off the shuttle bus earlier, but I'll live. . . . It's just . . . I'm just worried about Elyon, that's all. She was just fine this morning on our way to 'Bayville', so now I'm wondering if I didn't get her sick after she'd spent yesterday looking after me, after all. . . ."

"Well, then . . . if you accidentally had, then at least she did the smart thing by choosing to go and rest, right?" Will weakly offered with a light smile, feeling overall relieved that someone else had broached the topic of discussion rather than herself.

"True that, Will. Although, I do have to say that it's pretty uncharacteristic for Elyon to willingly go down like that, especially for something as minor as a cold," Irma openly observed with a mild shrug, before casually leaning back against her seat as much as her carefully elevated, and injured leg would allow. "I mean, you don't obviously know this, being new and all, but perfect attendance is like, a super thing for both Elyon, and our dear Cornikins, here. Unless threatened at gunpoint, they both generally do their absolute best to make it to every class, and even every D.R. session. 'Insane,' is what I personally call such commitment, but meh! It's whatever."

Cornelia scowled deeply at this, before quickly then appearing to consciously calm herself down as she responded.

"There's nothing wrong with wanting to possess an unblemished record, Irma. It shows that you take your responsibilities seriously, and can actually be relied upon if need be further down the road," she countered within the same, heavily engorged voice, thus causing her admittedly valid point to fly straight out the window as Irma once again began to laugh joyously at her expense. "O-Oh! My God, is it really that hilarious to hear someone speak when they have a cold?"

"Nope! But whenever you do right now? Why, yes, yes it is, especially now knowing that it irritates you so," Irma replied in kind in between ongoing giggles, at the same time that Hay Lin gently nudged at her side in order to get her to calm down.

". . . . You two really do go at it like cats and dogs," Will couldn't help but openly comment within observation, cheeks growing a bit red as all eyes then became trained onto her. ". . . . W-What? That's how Megan and Jubilee had both described Cornelia and Irma's overall relationship last week, when they were telling me about the random people who live here at the institute."

". . . . Might have to share a few choice words with those two ladies later on, then . . . although, tch! Who am I kidding? Up until last week, they were absolutely right. Hell, they still pretty much are, if right now is any indication," Irma initially muttered with a brief frown which mimicked Cornelia's, before promptly replacing it with a good-natured grin.

"A-Anyhow! Mind if we officially get started on our assignment, before we trail too far behind everyone else?" Taranee suddenly asked, rather anxiously at that, as her naturally studious nature effortlessly crept to the surface. "Sorry, I just . . . I really don't like being late with my schoolwork, that's all."

The remaining girls merely smiled at the now embarrassed looking Thermokinetic teenager, before freely allowing her to take the helm by volunteering to remind them all of their task.

After having finished reading the instructions aloud, Taranee then began to quickly jot down a few things into her notebook, before looking up at each girl and asked, "Okay, so . . . I guess we'll just go around the table and give our personal opinions on what makes an ideal marital partner, like the sheet says, and then . . . try to narrow it down to some of the best, down to the least, right? . . . . Who's first?"

"Well, Hay Lin's definitely last, as the closest person she's ever come close to dating is her own shadow," Irma playfully poked, causing the raven haired girl's cheeks to immediately grow inflamed as Irma quickly continued. "Oh, relax, Hay Lin, relax! I'm not saying that to be mean or whatever, you know that! I just mean that you've just honestly never before really shown much interest within the dating scene, that's all. You've said as much, yourself, many times. So, you know, unless you clearly have some sharing to do – Like, pronto – I don't really think you've given much thought toward the subject of marriage any more than I have, like I said."

"Y-Yeah, well . . . maybe things change," Hay Lin mysteriously murmured into her palm, which had been conveniently resting against her cheek, before then unintentionally activating her latest invisibility power without realizing.

"H-Hey! Oh, no you don't! You don't get to literally hide away from us like that, right in the middle of my having to kick your ass because you've clearly met someone! Who is he? A-And would you knock that off? 'No active use of mutant abilities during class hours, unless otherwise specified,' remember?" both Will, and even Taranee began quietly giggling at the ongoing display, listening to a blatantly frustrated Irma reprimand her best friend, who'd then managed to successfully reappear next to her a few moments later.

"O-Oh, gosh, sorry about that! I didn't do it on purpose, Irma! You know that this new ability's still taking some getting used to, and unfortunately seems to wanna trigger itself during times of . . . feeling flustered, I guess," Hay Lin apologized, both hands now covering her face within furthered abashment as she let out a heavy groan, clearly dreading her ongoing confession. "B-But, all right, fine! Yes, okay? There is . . . someone. Maybe. O-Or, well, like . . . maybe just the idea of an idea of an idea of someone, really, since presently, he has no idea I even exist. W-Which, you know, also isn't really that much of a surprise, either, considering any time I see him in the halls I completely seize up, my stupid powers manifest themselves, and I turn literallyinvisible, like right now. . . . O-Okay, well, obviously my gifts aren't stupid, I know, but imagine if Eric and I ever ended up together one day and we're in the middle of m-making out? I'd honestly just die, and -"

"- Wait a second. 'Eric,' as in Eric Lyndon, Hay Lin? That's funny, because I was just thinking earlier how much the two of you are alike. . . . I say go for it, then; he's honestly pretty nice," Cornelia interrupted with a light shrug of mild intrigue, her focus continually splintered between paying attention to her present lesson, as well as doing her best not to lose her mind with worry over her curiously absent best friend. "Maybe you can channel that attraction into this assignment, as well – It might help give you better control over your new ability, too, if you actually put down all the things you like about him."

Irma smirked toward Cornelia a moment, before immediately bestowing a disapproving frown onto a continually shamefaced Hay Lin.

"D'aww! Good ol' Cornelia: Even when she couldn't really give a crap about whatever we're talking about, she'll still find a way to inject some more of her 'Junior Professor' routine in there somewhere! And, you! We're going to talk in depth about you leaving me out in the cold like this later!" she initially cooed, before her voice grew playfully stern as she pointed an index finger toward the Aerokinetic girl sat beside her. "Anyway! 'Till then, put a pin in all that, before Taranee somehow sets the table on fire, thanks to the mounting frustration clearly etched upon her face right now. . . ."

"W-What? You know that I don't have the ability to actually create fire, nor want to and – O-Oh . . . that was a joke. Got it," it was Taranee's turn to blush profusely, the incredibly tense facial expression previously set plainly upon her face slowly evaporating as she then cleared her throat once more."B-But, anyhow . . . while I was growing a little impatient, I'll admit that, sorry, at least it was still sort of on topic to our task at hand, though, right? Like Cornelia just pointed out, seeing as you have someone presently in mind, Hay Lin, it really would make it a bit easier on you to list a few things you find important within your ideal match. Want to start?"

Hay Lin nearly jumped out of her seat.

"Wait, what? It's one thing to finally share with you guys that I maybe-kinda-sorta like someone, it's another to believe that I actually know what the hell to do about it! Were you all not listening to the part where I said that 'Eric doesn't even know that I exist?'" she groaned, throwing both hands into the air for a bit of dramatic flair.

". . . . Right, maybe so, but the assignment still isn't about what the other person might think about you, or whether or not you have what they're looking for, Hay Lin; it's entirely the other way around, hence Taranee suggesting that you go first," Will chimed in within rebuttal, a small, but growing smile of amusement forming onto her face.

While she generally wasn't one for butting into another person's love life, certainly not to tease them about it, Will found that she honestly couldn't resist for a change, as the general lax, welcoming atmosphere her new comrades continually presented was rather infectious. . . .

"Awww, really? You too, now, Will? Fine! W-Write this down, Taranee! Number one . . . um . . . no, no! Skip me, skip me! I'm new to all this, all right? Why not ask Irma? She's the most experienced of us here, dating wise! O-Or, no! No! Cornelia, you go, you go! I mean, sure, Irma can snag a guy if the mood so strikes, it seems, but we've both seen how many glances you get from a lot of them back at 'Bayville,' as well as here, off and on. . . . Although, come to think of it, I don't think that I've ever really seen you go out with any of them, at least not within recent years, anyway, and -"

"- Because you know how picky Corny can be, Hay Lin, that's why! Nothing new, moving on!" Irma mysteriously cut off her friend's habitual rambling with a dismissive wave of her hand, her overall demeanor and tone of voice coming off as thoroughly uninterested, at the same time that Cornelia was keen enough to detect something . . . extra glinting within her eyes.

It was honestly very similar to the look she'd given her during their unexpected heart-to-heart last week, the more Cornelia thought about it.

She'd made a point to brush it aside, thinking that she hopefully might have been imagining things, but, now . . . Cornelia truly had to wonder: Was Irma actually aware that Cornelia had romantic feelings for Elyon, after all?

Having Irma know, of all people, would be the last thing she'd need, on top of continually contending against the known fact that Elyon was currently crushing upon someone else.

As it was, Cornelia was still, quite literally, sitting on the note Caleb had written for Elyon, and waffling between doing the right thing by being the dutiful friend she'd always been and present it to her after class . . . or to honor her own feelings by simply tearing it to pieces. . . .

Who was she kidding?

Of course she was going to end up giving it to Elyon, which would undoubtedly cheer her up and snap her straight out of whatever illness she may have contracted, and Cornelia would simply have to just go with it, like always.

Besides, it was pretty much safe to discern by now that any time Cornelia 'honored' her own emotions as of late, she was falling more and more back into the far less disciplined student she once was, much to her continued chagrin . . .

"Write this down, T! One: Sense of humor. Two: Loves music – Definitely enjoying Karmilla certainly couldn't hurt much, either. Three: Loves food. Four: Isn't afraid to show his emotions, good or bad, because we all know guys gotta always be super macho and made of stone, ya know? Five: Wouldn't mind going shopping a few times with me, since that's yet another thing we all know that's basically one of the worst things in the world for a guy to do with his girlfriend, right?

"Six: Loves family. Seven: Has respect, both for himself, as well as for others. Eight: Open-minded. And no, I don't mean anything like that, you pervs. I mean for general crap, like if I wanted to one day go khaking off Niagara Falls, or something, or if I trusted him enough to let him know that I'm a mutant. Shit like that, whatever. Nine: Actually knows what personal hygiene is. Ten: Loyal, and treats me like the queen I am. Boom! See? Easy! Next?"

As Taranee obediently wrote down Irma's verbal list as quickly as she could, her nose nearly pressed up against the page of her notebook, she was crouched that close to it as she did so, Cornelia was the first to quietly comment.

". . . . Wait, so . . . you've placed some of the more important qualities toward the bottom, rather than the top? A-And what was up with 'Eight?' You do know that you'd be the one with the direct advantage within that situation, not him, right? Never mind the fact that it's incredibly dangerous, as well as asinine," she remarked with a raised eyebrow, before promptly turning her head away in order to sneeze into the left sleeve of her shirt.

". . . . Bless you. And also that only approximately six or so individuals have survived going over Niagara Falls to date, as well. Of course, I'll have to double check my numbers, but I believe this to be the case," Taranee chimed in automatically, her eyes still cast downward as she finished up the last of Irma's admittedly curious list.

At this, Irma simply blew a loud raspberry toward both girls sat directly across from her.

"Pfffffft! I'm not honestly surprised you could randomly pull such a statistic from out of your brainiac hat by this point, Taranee, well done. Besides! Like I wouldn't obviously use my Hydrokinesis to protect the both of us once we went over, duh! And it's called being 'adventurous,' Cornelia! I'm sure your definition of that to add onto your ideal mate list would be 'Making sure my mate stays on top of their finances, and goes to bed by four-thirty in the afternoon,' am I right?"

". . . . What's wrong with staying on top of finances?" both Hay Lin and Will openly questioned at the same time, the act eliciting a surprised glance, then immediate giggles shared between them.

"See, Will understands, Irma! Wait, did you have a job or something before moving here, Will? For me, it's my 'Cutesy' shop online, plus my grandma making sure that I obviously am mindful of all my expenditures. You know! How much it costs for me to restock my materials at the craft store I go to, and then also just the general pricing for each of the unique items I make and sell to my customers," Hay Lin explained casually, although the growing smile upon her face was one full of obvious pride, as she clearly was rather gratified by her personal business.

Will merely nodded at this as she smiled back, before responding.

"Ahhh, I see. Maybe later on you could show me some of the stuff you make. And no, I didn't have an official job before moving to Bayville, Hay Lin, although I did do a lot of volunteering at my local animal shelter, since I did share with you guys that I really love animals," she stated with another, much more crooked smile as the usual embarrassment over having taken center stage set in once more. "But, uh . . . I guess I just kinda know a few things about proper financing and what not since it was always just me and my mom up until now. Yeah. We've just always been far more mindful of the amount we spend on different things, why, and when and all that, by comparison to like, the more well off kids at my old school, I suppose. . . ."

"Right. Like Cornelia, here," Irma teased with a wink toward the now glaring Cornelia, thankfully chiming in on Will's behalf just in time, as the tomboy honestly wasn't presently within any mood to divulge further into her personal life, especially considering she would have to within a few minutes anyhow, due to their assignment.

"Tch – ! My parents are technically the only 'wealthy' ones, Irma, and you also know that I barely touch the monthly allowance they send me. Nowadays, anyway," Cornelia fired back with a loud tut, before quickly giving Will a far more sympathetic look than the redhead cared for. "Seriously, though, Will. Even though Irma clearly likes to purposefully push my buttons, I'm honestly not as rich as she's portraying. And even if I were, it really doesn't matter. I'm not the spoiled brat I once was when I first arrived here, anyhow – And she knows this. . . ."

Will once again nodded within general understanding, before she suddenly found herself unable to resist turning the tide and playfully stirring the pot once again.

"Mmhm . . . but seriously, though: How 'rich' are you then? You said you 'barely touch' the money your folks send you, so I'm sure you must have, like, a bonafide nest egg tucked away for several rainy days," she remarked within jest, the remaining girls, even including Taranee, following suit within her present laughter as Cornelia groaned heavily within defeat.

"I'll just let you have that one, because you're still new, Will. Anyway! Are you ready to go now, Hay Lin, or not?" the blonde quickly changed the subject with a light smile toward the still giggling Will, before she and the rest of the group turned their attention onto the sable haired girl.

"U-Um . . . okay, fine, I guess. Hmm . . . what do I want out of my ideal marital partner? Ooh, ooh! Okay, so definitely a great sense of humor, like Irma said, as well. . . . Uhhh . . . has a wonderful imagination . . . maybe into science fiction and stuff, like I am. . . . Doesn't have to be an actual artist or anything as I am, but at least can generally appreciate paintings and junk every now and again.. . . . Definitely loves his family, also like Irma said!" Hay Lin slowly began to rifle off her tentative list, looking up at the ceiling as she ticked them off one by one upon her skinny fingers. "What else, what else . . . he doesn't have to be a big talker like I tend to be, but at least is a really good listener and doesn't mind if I fall into another one of my chatterbox moments! And then, I guess, you know . . . just more of the same from Irma's list, really: Respectful, sweet, isn't scared of his emotions, you know. O-Oh! And, um . . . I guess is also pretty cooky at times, like I also can be. There, that's ten, I think. Oh, wait, no! Um . . . cute, I don't know, though I don't honestly care about that. Okay, now that's ten, right?"

". . . . Is . . . that in order from most important, to least, then?" Taranee asked, pausing a moment from her continued penning in order to gaze questionably toward the petite girl sat next to her.

"Uhhh . . . I suppose so, sure! Hey! That wasn't bad for my first try, considering – I have to remind you all yet again – I've never before bothered to think about this sort of stuff until today!" Hay Lin replied with an indignant pout the very moment she caught her friends' similar stares of mild exasperation. "I'm sure you can just rearrange some things, seeing as we're all supposed to be agreeing on the more important qualities by the end of this, anyways! Bah! Cornelia, your turn, since you were so insistent upon putting me on the spot."

Cornelia's face promptly turned pink at this, before then thankfully regaining her composure in time before anyone, Irma within particular, appeared to have noticed.

Just because Cornelia was now around seventy-five percent certain that the brunette had somehow figured her out, it didn't mean she was suddenly going to completely drop the overall facade . . . at least, not until Irma would one day directly confront her about everything, anyhow, and even then Cornelia's defense mechanisms would most probably kick in, causing her to outright deny the allegations. . . .

"Mmm, sorry, Hay Lin. Wish I could, but it appears as though we're going around the table clockwise, now, and not sporadically. Which means that Taranee's next, then Will. Which means I'm the last one to go, darn," she faintly smirked with a quick snap of her fingers, as she couldn't help but heave a gentle sigh of relief by that specific observation.

"C-Can I just ask what exactly is the point of this Sociology class, though? I mean, yeah, a few days late in asking this since this is like, my sixth session since I've been here, now, but . . . really. Like, I get what the syllabus says and all, and I suppose I also kinda get the overall subject in general, maybe, but what does our figuring out the kind of person we might marry one day even have to do with the here and now? I mean, won't these opinions naturally just change over time as we get older?" Will couldn't resist openly posing her honest inquiry, the analytical portion of her mind naturally taking effect.

Whether she'd been speaking too loudly, somehow even above the surrounding conversations of the other groups near theirs, or she'd simply been eavesdropped, Will wasn't sure, as either way Doctor Chacon suddenly chimed in at her returned place in front of her desk in order to answer.

"And that, my young Will, is precisely the point!" she started with a cheerful, approving grin as she rose from her seat and began to approach. "What 'Sociology' is, that is. It's always changing, in spite of the patterns one whom actively studies this particular science will observe! And since it's ever evolving, just like you so astutely pointed out about each of your marital preferences, Will, this is why we conduct countless experiments, and empirical analyses as our overall society continues on a'truckin'! And, as this specific unit will hopefully teach you, all of you, it is a great indicator of the general mindset and consensus of our surrounding peers. Something which, as gifted students, you should all wish to continually be mindful of by default, so that we can personally see for ourselves the possible climate, good or bad, if ever mutants are one day revealed to the rest of the world."

". . . . Yeah, see, Will? What the Doc just said," Irma was the first to comment with a cheeky grin, as a chorus of laughter from mutually amused students chimed in after her.

"All right, all right, settle down, you guys! Thanks for that, Irma – Now back to work, all of you! Oh! And Will, great question, though, by the way. Always love to see whenever one of my students actually gives a darn toward such an otherwise 'boring class,'" Doctor Chacon laughed within good humor alongside her students, further illustrating to Will precisely the reason she was apparently one of the more favorite professors currently residing within the institute.

After this, things had run far more smoothly for their particular group, with little to no sidetracking comments as before.

Taranee was just about finished writing down her own list of her most ideal mate, with both hers and Will's honestly appearing to be formulated rather hastily, as the pair mutually agreed that they had always been more or less within the same boat as Hay Lin, having little to no dating experience, nor had given their future intended much thought.

Still, it certainly didn't mean that it hadn't been done without profuse groans, moans, and blushing like mad, try as Will, especially, might to have remained as collected as possible.

However, considering that Irma, and even Hay Lin apparently couldn't help themselves within taking open delight by how undeniably flustered that specific topic had made both Taranee and Will, it was honestly a wonder that either girl had made it through at all.

". . . . There! That's the last of my list, down, happy? Have a good chuckle at Will's and my overall discomfort, you two, even though it's pretty clear we all appear to want a lot of the same things by this point: Trustworthy, honest, kind, respectable, etcetera," Taranee initially murmured, before picking up a bit of steam as the slight temper she'd privately admitted to Will that past weekend of possessing appeared to be making its open debut into their ongoing discussion.

"Wow, y-yikes! Relaaax, T! You know by now – Or should - that we're just goofin' on ya, sorry!" Irma quickly apologized with a genuine smile, as Hay Lin followed suit.

"Yeah! You know we love you guys! Yep, you, too, Will, even though we only just met you last week, and all. But we still mean it! W-Well, at least I still mean it – Irma will probably make you take her out to dinner first before she says it, herself . . . like with Andrew Horrrnsby!" Hay Lin teased in between uncontrollable giggles, successfully derailing the previous train of overall progress their group had been making.

"Ugh! Did I not say earlier that I unfortunately have to reschedule with him, anyway? Besides! There's absolutely nothing wrong with making them work for it! Right, Cornelia? A little of the 'carrot-stick' scenario, because I'm so sure I'm gonna be spouting out the 'L' word so easily like that . . . even if I do love love, sure," the brunette, natural jokester deflected with a mild shrug, although nonetheless openly confessing to her, at times, boy crazy nature. "But, yes! And finally, we come down to you, my sweet! Take it away! A-Although, you know, like . . . it's cool if you need a few minutes, or whatever. No pressure, we're all pals, here."

Doing her best to ignore the other girl's trailing comment, especially, Cornelia slowly licked her now completely chapped lips before responding.

". . . . N-Not that I'm honestly sure why everyone's so fascinated with the kind of person who might tickle my fancy, but fine," she started as nonchalantly as possible, giving a brief, sideways glance toward the awaiting Taranee before looking down toward her own notebook, and pretended to struggle with the personal composite. "Hmm . . . I suppose I would have to say that I'd like my ideal mate to be . . . warm, and kind . . . someone who is fiercely bright and talented, yet isn't the first one to go bragging about it. . . . Someone who can be adorably shy, but at the same time has tremendous strength whenever they do find their voice from time to time. . . . They're able to provide a strong balance toward my own overall nature, and isn't afraid to bring me back down to Earth if ever my old ways get the better of me.

"They, u-um . . . they challenge me within every conceivable way, making me look at things within entirely new ways I never before thought possible. . . . I can lean on them, no matter what, and they can trust me enough to do the very same. . . . They are incredibly loyal . . . generally trustworthy . . . and they are honestly the most beautiful person I've ever known. . . ."

". . . . T-That was only nine," Irma breathed with a light smile, her naturally tanned complexion appearing every bit as flushed as Cornelia's understandably now was.

Cornelia quickly looked across the table towards her, and actually managed to smile back, searching the other girl's face to find that she appeared to be genuinely receptive within that moment, and was suspending her usual jester like behavior for a change.

". . . . And that they love me, every bit as much as I love them," the blonde concluded within a quiet, uncharacteristically shy voice as both she and Irma continued to mutually smile at one another.

Maybe it wasn't really the end of the world if Irma did know that Cornelia was in love with Elyon, after all.

They'd so far managed not to tear each other apart as newfound roommates, anyhow.

Maybe, just maybe, if it turned out that Irma really did know the truth, then it no longer appeared as though Cornelia had to honestly worry so much that Irma was just going to be Irma, and not only make a big deal out of it, but possibly share it with whomever would listen.

Which, considering how both Elyon and Cornelia were sort of two of the institute's 'star pupils,' as Irma, herself, had once put it, Cornelia suspected that it might make for some tantalizing chitchat for at least a week or two around campus. . . .

". . . . Wow. Methinks we can totally give first place for 'best list' to Cornelia, you guys, seriously. I told you she was basically an expert, next to Irma!" Hay Lin began slowly within undeniable awe, before regrettably proceeding to commence within a round of applause, however brief.

"O-Oh, gosh, Hay Lin, it – ! It's seriously not that big a deal, all right? It was just whatever had come to me in the moment, that's all," Cornelia did her best to casually parry, repeatedly waving both hands in front of her as she tried to get the giddy girl to stop with the theatrics. "Can we just hurry up and finish the final list of what we all think is best, and worst, please?"

"Yeah, I mean, sure, but . . . Hay Lin does have a point, though," Will couldn't help but playfully offer, she, too, feeling rather impressed by how insightful her new friend's personal listing had been. "If ever you need any dating tips, Hay Lin, I'm thinking Cornelia might be the better choice than Irma. . . ."

Taranee gave a broad smile within agreement, as she gazed impishly toward a continually blushing Cornelia, across the table at a now eagerly nodding Hay Lin, and back again.

"I'm going to have to concur with Will on that one, Irma, sorry. Cornelia's romantic assessment honestly was pretty eye-opening, and pretty mature, already. Whomever ends up becoming your boyfriend next, he'd better be 'Prince Charming!'"

"H-Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"

"Arrrrghhh. . . ." was all Cornelia could muster as her final response toward the topic, burying her face into her hands at the same time that Irma dramatically objected the apparently general consensus given by their mutual companions.

". . . . Elyon? Are you asleep?"

It was now the following period after her Sociology class, which, for Cornelia, meant that was Study Hall.

Despite her discomfort toward the end of the previous period, it had honestly ended up being rather enjoyable overall.

Cornelia felt like she had learned quite a bit about her friends, and indeed, herself, or at least, where her love for Elyon was concerned, as she'd naturally never before put any of those particular feelings down onto paper before.

She'd never really actively thought much about them, either.

She never needed to, as by that point they were simply every bit as automatic as breathing.

Still, it had been a pretty nice reminder to hear aloud her reasons behind feeling that way toward Elyon, and even more so to have finally openly shared them, if she was perfectly honest . . . especially considering no one, perhaps outside of Irma, had even the slightest inkling that Cornelia had anyone in mind in particular, let alone Elyon.

Doctor Chacon's points about continual social climate change certainly seemed to be the case for Cornelia and the others, as she admittedly couldn't readily recall the many times they'd each gathered together as frequently as they appeared to be as of late.

It was as though Will's recent arrival had ignited some sort of spark which had previously lain dormant within them, where the group's overall relationship was concerned.

Whatever the reason, be it Will indeed being the cementing catalyst, or perhaps even the five of them having faced extreme deadliness together, Elyon alongside, Cornelia didn't really care to have the answer for a change.

It was simply a pleasant change of pace, and one she found herself welcoming openly. . . .

Uncharacteristically promising to sit together later on during dinnertime, Cornelia had quickly satisfied Hay Lin's nosiness by informing the girls that she would simply do a quick pop in inside of her formerly shared dorm room with Elyon.

"O-Okay, but take care not to trip over any of the mats I'd left on my bed! A-And that's 'mats,' for 'materials,' by the way, since I can see by your face you probably thought I had a bunch of literal floor mats all piled up in there for whatever reason! I'm gonna try making a few prototypes for our 'you-know-whats!'" Hay Lin had cheerfully explained with a quick wave of goodbye before proceeding to head to her Advanced Placement Studio in Art class, while Irma purposefully dragged her feet up the stairs toward Economics, and both Will and Taranee continued further on ahead back on the first floor to their shared Elemental Manipulation 101 lesson.

While Cornelia still had every intention of heading back downstairs and hopefully get to class on time, the general concern she possessed for her best friend naturally took precedence over even possibly receiving a tardy slip from whichever professor would be presiding over the period today.

And so, without waiting for the other girl to possibly respond, Cornelia quietly pushed open the familiar door and entered inside.

"Sorry if you were trying to rest, but I wanted to – ! E-Elyon? Elyon! Where are you? What's going on?" both Cornelia's mind and body immediately went into extreme alert the instant her blue eyes took in the rather startling sight presently laid out before her.

Positively everything within the dorm room which wasn't nailed down or mounted up within some other fashion was left to Elyon's mercy, as her incredibly powerful telekinesis simultaneously levitated every last object without effort. . . .

Cornelia honestly had to duck for cover several times as she proceeded further into the room, eyes wide with ample concern as she forced herself to remain as calm as possible.

. . . . There go all the 'mats' Hay Lin was on about, she couldn't help but fleetingly muse as she bent down in time to dodge the rolled up skein of yellow yarn which had been lazily making its way toward her, before gingerly pushing it away from her and back toward the rest of Hay Lin's belongings.

Interwoven with the repeated sounds of various objects, big or small, carelessly colliding into one another, was the undeniable sound of Elyon crying . . . above Cornelia.

Immediately figuring out where her dearest friend could be, Cornelia practically slingshot her body over both Elyon and Hay Lin's separate beds which were presently floating, side by side, in front of the wide open terrace where the two blondes would frequently sit outside many a time in the past.

Not too long before Cornelia had ended up having to swap places with Hay Lin, Elyon had taken to utilizing her teleportation abilities more frequently whenever she would sit out there with her . . . mostly to purposefully rattle Cornelia's nerves whenever Elyon would uncharacteristically attempt dangerous stunts, such as teleporting from out of her seat, into midair high above the institute, and back again.

However, majority of the time Elyon would simply transport the both of them up onto the school's roof, where they would sit and talk, while taking in the beautiful sight of the entire campus from their otherwise precarious perch.

Now, however, it would seem that the reason for Elyon's retreat onto the roof was anything but pleasant. . . .

"E-Elyon? Oh, God! There you are! W-What's the matter, why are you crying?" Cornelia asked within ever mounting anxiety, as she stopped short upon making it out onto the previously abandoned terrace and thankfully laid eyes upon the girl in question at last.

Curled up into an incredibly minuscule sized ball, at least three or so feet directly above her head was Elyon, her face completely buried within her lap as she continued to let loose her curiously wounded emotions, in addition to powers.

Suddenly hearing her friend call out to her, however, nearly caused Elyon to fall off the edge of the roof as her head immediately snapped at attention, and her woefully bloodshot eyes rested upon Cornelia.

"O-Oh! C-Cor . . . Cornelia? What are . . . you d-doing here?" she somehow managed to articulate in between tremendously wet and sobbing hiccups, blindly reaching up to quickly wipe away a few tears within fruitless effort for the other girl not to have seen.

"W-Wha – ? Never mind that! Tell me what's happened! Your dorm room is completely Topsy-turvy right now thanks to your telekinesis, you're that upset!" Cornelia dismissed Elyon's vain attempt at distraction, before approaching the white, ivy covered lattice which was right on the side of the terrace, and reached out with every intention to climb up to meet her friend.

Seeing this, Elyon promptly snapped out of her previous misery long enough to suddenly teleport back down onto the awaiting terrace, before seizing Cornelia around her waist from behind and carefully pulled her away from the ledge where she'd been leaning.

"W-What are you, insane? I'm . . . I'm the one with the quick transporting ability, not . . . not you!" she chastised in between ongoing sniffles, although she didn't appear to be within any rush to release her best friend, as she then immediately pressed her face against Cornelia's well toned back and held onto her for dear life. "O-Oh, Cornelia, I'm . . . I'm such an idiot! I should have . . should have never have thought for even a moment that C-Caleb was . . . was serious about me!"

Of all the things Cornelia had thought Elyon might have explained was the matter, that, understandably, was not.

Now beginning to feel far more perplexed than fearful as she'd previously been, Cornelia did her best to ignore the physical sensations of Elyon's hot breath sobbing uncontrollably through her shirt, thus repeatedly tickling her back.

". . . . Wait a minute, wait a minute, here, hold on. What are you on about, you 'should have never have thought Caleb was serious about you?' It's obvious he is! He just asked you out again yesterday, right? It was all you could talk about then, and again this morning on the way to 'Bayville,'" she did her best to shelve her concealed resentment toward such a fact, her previously morose disposition from earlier on that day temporarily settling back in as she continued. "Although, honestly . . . I gotta say that I was rather surprised that you didn't really want to talk about him some more on the way home . . . or said much of anything at all, either. That's why I came to check on you before heading to 'Study Hall:' I was worried that I'd given you my cold, after all, and wanted to see if there was any way I could comfort you. I never expected to see that you'd need comfort for your heart, instead. . . ."

Cornelia felt Elyon weakly nodding against her body, before slowly peeling herself from off of her and moved around to face her.

"Y-Yeah . . . this was why. B . . . Because . . . Because earlier, before fifth period, I-I . . . saw Caleb heading toward me while I was still at my locker," she began the obviously heartbreaking tale as Cornelia remained silent, although already beginning to simmer underneath, "a-and then, uh . . . u-um, I told him how excited I was for our next date this Friday, you know? But then . . . o-out of nowhere, he just starts telling me that . . . 'this' isn't going to work out, a-and that it was far more trouble than it's . . it's worth!"

As Elyon renewed her avalanche of tears, unbeknownst to Cornelia having finished mimicking the similar back and forth motion with her index finger which Caleb had done to her as he had let her down, Cornelia's own emotions were swiftly heating up.

It was one thing for the guy to have regrettably become competition for her best friend's affections, however unintentional on his part as it had initially seemed; it was another entirely to have apparently been playing around with Elyon's feelings all along, even dragging Cornelia along for the ride within the process!

"W-What the hell? What an absolute asshole!" Cornelia snapped out violently, the ivy behind her suddenly becoming even more overgrown as her Geokinesis had clearly unconsciously triggered themselves within that moment. "A-And then he's gonna act all nice and innocent with me earlier today, making me be a pawn within his sick, bullshit game by asking me to deliver a note he wrote you, too!"

At this, Elyon couldn't help but perk up, at least a little bit, as she asked curiously, ". . . . 'Note?' What note?"

Managing to calm herself, at least enough so that the momentarily controlled ivy didn't completely overrun the entire institute, at the rate she was making them grow, Cornelia turned to look at them a moment before slowly reaching into the back pocket of her jeans.

". . . . Here. Caleb gave this to me during gym class. I was . . . I was going to give it to you on the shuttle bus, but after seeing how removed from everything you suddenly were, I'd decided to wait," she sheepishly confessed within defeat, her heart unavoidably twitching within renewed pain of her own as she forced herself to do the 'right thing,' after all. "I, uh . . . I don't know why I didn't just give it to you then, though, as it might have cheered you up. B-But . . . seeing as it turns out that he was, or is the reason you're so upset, I suppose it was probably for the best. . . ."

Cornelia watched with bated breath as she honestly expected Elyon to quickly unfold the tiny, square shaped note, as she perhaps attempted to find some form of solace, or hint of the entire incident having been a complete joke.

An incredibly cruel, incredibly unnecessary joke, but a joke, nonetheless.

Instead, however, Elyon merely stared down at the folded piece of paper within her hand with a sudden frown forming upon her face, before it unexpectedly began to tear itself into tiny pieces, via her telekinesis.

"W-What? Not that I can say I blame you for doing that, but I'd honestly thought you might have gone ahead and read whatever it was he had to say, first," Cornelia commented as she let out a brief exhale of admitted alleviation, an observation which only made her feel worse within the long run, as she was meant to be fully focusing upon Elyon and her own turmoil.

Mentally lifting the shredded pieces of paper into the air between them, Elyon let out a strangled cry as she then roughly thrust her right hand toward the wastebasket which had just timely floated past the open window, telekinetically moving the destroyed articles into it with ease.

". . . . N-No. I-I don't want to read whatever . . . whatever messed up thing he had to say, continuing to play with my emotions like this. H-He already said enough," she stated within surprising seriousness as she thankfully began to stop crying, performing a double take as she appeared to only just thenfinally realize the sheer havoc her mutant gifts were continuing to wreak upon Hay Lin's and her dorm room. "O-Oh, no!"

Almost immediately did everything within the room stop floating all at once, with Elyon not taking the time to further recognize what she was doing, as not only was everything now within complete disarray, but both hers, as well as Hay Lin's beds were now tangled up on top of one another as a result.

"W-Whoa! Mmm . . . y-yeah. This might take us some time to clean up," Cornelia murmured, more so to herself, as both she and Elyon had automatically covered their ears upon initially listening to the loud crashing noise Elyon's furniture had made upon landing, unceremoniously, back onto the smooth marble floor. "Then again, we could always try to speed things up with you using your telekinesis once more. It got us into this mess, after all, right? W-Well . . . Caleb did, actually, and I swear to God when I see him again on Wednesday, I'm gonna bury him for what breaking your heart like this, Ellie, and -"

Cornelia suddenly felt Elyon lunging her tiny body toward her once again, this time hugging her from the front as tightly as she could, as she quietly whispered, ". . . . I'm so lucky to have you, and that you're always here for me, Cornelia. I . . . I love you. . . ."

Cornelia didn't know what to do, nor how to initially respond, as she felt her blood grow cold and her body immediately seize up.

They had said they loved one another multiple times throughout the years, once their friendship and overall bond had successfully solidified, so the shock wasn't honestly over the fact that Elyon had done so.

Perhaps it was probably due to having come fresh right out of her Sociology class, spending majority of that period talking about romantic relationships, with Cornelia even openly admitting that she would wish for nothing more than for Elyon to one day tell her that she loved her beyond that of mere companionship.

It was just a little more than she'd readily been expecting at the moment, that was all . . . that, and, for whatever, honestly foolish reason, Cornelia could have sworn that this time, Elyon's declaration of affection felt a bit . . . different.

No, no.

Today was just shaping out to be incredibly emotional and hormone charged, with recent events honestly playing out like some sort of soap opera.

First that idiot asks Elyon out, then turns out to have been duping her all along . . . then I think that Tabitha, of all people, might have been flirting with me during gym class, and now I'm allowing my previous 'Sociology' lesson to get the better of me, here. Snap out of it, Cornelia, before Elyon gets suspicious! Cornelia momentarily mused, before quickly doing what her mind had instructed her to do and successfully regathered her wits.

"I-I . . . love you, too, Elyon. Always," she practically whispered with a soft smile as she meant every word, momentarily wrapping her arms around her vulnerable friend and gently squeezed her tight before releasing her. "Okay! So where should we start? Probably the beds, right? Here, I'll take this side, and you -"

"- No, no, I got it. I got it, Cornelia. I've already been excused from the rest of my classes today. You haven't. I don't want you being late for Study Hall on account of me," Elyon cut her off with a shake of her head and weak smile, a faint, yet noticeable rouge slowly beginning to stain her cheeks as she curiously couldn't hold Cornelia's gaze. "Besides . . . all this cleaning will honestly give me some time to think. About everything, I mean . . . although mostly about how I really could have been so blind. . . ."

Frowning at this, Cornelia paused a moment before responding.

". . . . I don't know. I really don't want to leave you alone like this. And . . . I don't care if it makes me late, so what? As Irma keeps trying to convince me, perfect attendance maybe really isn't everything, after all," she remarked with a brief shrug, although her eyes couldn't help but fleetingly gaze down at her wristwatch to see that she only had one minute to spare before the tardy bell rang. "And you are not blind, Elyon, orstupid, before you call yourself that again, hear me? You simply did what most of us teenagers do, and jumped head first into what you naturally believed to be a potential relationship. No one can fault you for that, so you shouldn't do so, either. And, trust me on this one . . . you are definitely not 'way more trouble than you're worth.' Without knowing you, I'd never have grown to become the person I am today, I apparently need to keep reminding you of! So, please . . . chin up, all right? I-I really don't want to go, I don't, but I promise to come straight back as soon as the final bell rings!"

As Cornelia gave her heartsick friend one final embrace, before then carefully maneuvering out of the chaotic looking dorm room and booking it through the East Wing and back down the main staircase, she never before felt so relieved to have an upcoming training exercise within the Danger Room, following her study hall period.

It was almost perfect timing that the extra session had been scheduled, courtesy of Professor Kandrakar having fulfilled his promise that past weekend that all students, effective immediately, would be experiencing double the training until further notice.

She thought she had played it pretty cool back there for Elyon's sake, and was honestly thankful that she hadn't appeared to catch the open threat Cornelia had made against Caleb, but Cornelia absolutely couldn't wait to tackle whatever obstacle would await her later on.

Whatever it did end up being, she only knew that she was going to positively let loose, all while mentally picturing Caleb's smug, and lying little face each, and every time. . . .

Will was feeling both optimistic, as well as positively terrified, all at once.

Optimistic, because she had to keep reminding herself that she did just play a direct part within saving someone's life just a few days ago – And an immensely powerful mutant, at that.

Terrified, however, because this was going to be Will's very first Danger Room training course, one which she wasn't entirely sure she'd even live through. . . .

Well, no, to be fair, while it still was a Danger Room lesson, the heavens had seen fit to answer at least part of Will's earlier prayer that it would somehow be canceled.

Instead, her premiere encounter with the menacing sounding facility had appeared to be commuted to outdoors, a fact which Will had observed her fellow classmates take great pleasure within, as well.

. . . . Didn't Taranee keep assuring her, over and over, that at their collective level, the only thing they'd been doing prior to her arrival was basically just target practice?

It made Will wonder what sort of 'target practice' it really was, if everyone could have looked so relieved to get out of the Danger Room, at least for that day. . . .

Randomly adjusting, and then readjusting the evidently standard issued black, leather training uniform which Taranee and the rest of their fellow classmates were presently wearing, Will nervously continued on alongside her friend as they both made their way down the slight incline which led to the back of the institute, and toward its incredibly spacious backyard.

Will immediately focused her increasingly skittish attention onto the now vaguely familiar, Olympic sized swimming pool she could then make out within the distance to her right, with its neighboring tennis court she'd only just then realized even existed.

She hadn't returned to that particular area of the school since her first time, after all, as she was still naturally not yet confident that she could be around open similar bodies of water without seriously injuring herself.

Still, as her feet continued leading her toward what was honestly beginning to feel like a death march of sorts, Will was beginning to almost want to take her chances, if any of the horrific things her mind was rapidly imagining turned out to be true. . . .

Suddenly, Will felt something brush up against her left leg, causing her to nearly jump clean out of her skin.

Looking down, peering back up at her there was a cinnamon colored, and green eyed . . . dog?

"H-Ha . . . I guess Rahne's trying to settle your nerves a bit, Will. I remember when she did basically the same thing for meduring my first time," Will tuned in in time to hear Taranee openly comment at her side, at the same time that Will's mind momentarily drew a complete blank, as the apparently female dog began to happily wag its tail while continually trotting along beside her.

". . . . Does . . . this school have a mascot I didn't know about until now, or something? W-Wait . . . 'Rahne. . . .' Isn't that the same name as that Scottish girl I'd met over the weekend, during lunchtime within the dining hall? Is this her dog, then?" she asked innocently, growing a bit more relaxed, indeed, as the honestly sweet canine successfully continued to distract her from her impending lesson.

She did love animals, after all.

Bending down a moment in order to gently caress the top of Rahne's soft head, Will let out a cry of alarm, at the same time that the dog suddenly began to . . . transform, it appeared, into a black uniformed, female human.

Human Rahne, in fact. . . .

"S-Sweet Jesus! You could have warned me that this dog is Rahne, Taranee, thanks!" Will spat out within intermingling fear, as well as annoyance, although feeling thankful that it hadn't been so much of a surprise as to involuntarily trigger her Electrokinetic abilities.

"O-Oh, sorry for that, Will! And don't be cross with Taranee! I should've probably told you myself when we first met what my mutant ability is, as I . . . do tend to grow a wee bit overzealous with shifting back and forth, sometimes," the fellow redhead apologized with a sheepish grin, rubbing the back of her head as the minuscule sized pigtails on either side coincidentally resembled the former ears she'd momentarily possessed as a dog. "I did just wanna calm you down some, though, since Roberto and I were watching you. And I told him, I said, 'She's up to high doh, she is! I'm gonna go see if I can't bring her back down!'"

"W-Wait . . . huh?" was all Will could manage as she continued listening to the friendly girl's honest ramblings, reminding her a lot of Hay Lin as a result.

"Aw, man, babe! I told ya you were gonna freak out the newbie! Don't mind my girlfriend: She has an interesting idea of what 'Welcoming Committee' means," a tall, teenage boy with short, wavy dark brown hair which further complimented his chocolate colored eyes and skin suddenly called out from behind. He then quickly broke out into a light jog toward the walking trio before continuing. "Hey! What's up? Will, right? Name's Roberto. Roberto da Costa! But feel free to call me 'Savior,' 'cause I've totally got your back for whatever today's exercise is gonna be! No sweat!"

Resisting the urge to scrunch up her face within a mixture of general uncertainty, in addition due to the unfamiliar boy's blatantly chauvinistic introduction, Will gave a faint smile and nod before carefully taking Roberto's outstretched hand and shook it.

"U-Uh . . . eeeyeah. Thanks for that, Roberto. I am pretty apprehensive about today, true, since I've never done anything like this before and you all have, but . . . I'm still ready to try, I guess. Plus, while she did startle me a little bit, I think I'd probably choose Rahne's comforting tactic versus some bigger . . . fanfare," Will remarked with a slowly growing smirk as she observed both Rahne, as well as Taranee apparently catching onto her vaguely subtle implication, the two girls softly giggling to themselves as Roberto's formerly confident expression converted into one of surprise.

"H-Hey! How would you not want a handsome, strong young man as your greeter? I mean, check it out!" he asked within feigned offense, his overall personality appearing to be one consisting of profound confidence, optimism, and a touch of vanity thrown in, grinning broadly toward Will and wagging his thick eyebrows up and down while flexing both of his biceps.

"Ach! You're a wee scunner, sometimes, you know? I've a right mind to turn Lupine next and give you a good clip on the ears . . . with my razor sharp claws," Rahne abruptly shifted from general amusement to blatant aggravation, carefully walking around Will and Taranee in order to gently push against her apparently flirtatious boyfriend's chest with both hands. "You may be 'Mr. Super strength Overachiever' whenever the sun's out, but the moment it's gone, you turn into the damsel in distress . . . like now, in fact. Head's up, sweetie! Big clouds up ahead!"

Grunting lightly from the unexpected physical attack and now rubbing at his chest, Roberto flashed the mildly heated redhead an apologetic smile, and nodded.

"O-Okay, okay! Geez! Don't wanna ignite that temper any further . . . although you do know how much I enjoy hearing that mild accent of yours and random slang come out more whenever it is," he managed to toss in a compliment in between chuckles, before looking up at the sky to see that it indeed was gradually becoming partly overcast. "Sorry to you, too, Will! Don't wantcha thinking that I'm some slime ball, 'cause I'm not! I just really like giving my all, twenty-four-seven . . . although with these crappy clouds forming, now, Rahne's right: It's gonna make today a lot more . . . 'adventurous,' I guess. O-Oh, right, yeah. You probably don't know about my gifts either yet, but basically I absorb solar energy, then convert it into physical strength. So far, anyway . . . but here's hoping for some further advancements!"

"Ah . . . so you're like a really strong plant, then," Will heard herself teasing before she could prevent it, initially worried that the boy in question would take umbrage, and then it'd be like being back home at her old school all over again. . . .

Thankfully, however, not only did Roberto burst out into admittedly over the top laughter, but so, too, did Rahne, while Taranee discreetly gave a playful push into Will's side.

"Ha, ha, ha! I knew I had the right vibes about you, Will! I like you! I like her, babe, told you!" the lone male within the small group continued chortling, as Rahne, clearly no longer upset with her significant other, affectionately wrapped an arm around his waist.

"Yeah, yeah, you did! But I did, as well, so we're even," she remarked after her own giggles had calmed down, the quartet nearing their destination. "But Will has a point, though. Hmmm . . . maybe we should start calling you 'Photosynthesis,' instead of that silly 'Sunspot' nickname you've been telling a couple of our housemates to refer to you as during training! Definitely suits you!"

As the happy couple continued on within their friendly debate, the former ease Will had thankfully amounted during the group's brief journey suddenly began to evaporate as she nervously locked eyes with the individual who would evidently be their instructor on that day.

". . . . Ohh, no. Professor Starlighter? Didn't you tell me that whenever she's in charge of your training sessions in the Danger Room, she can be pretty . . . intense?" Will smartly whispered against Taranee's left ear as the two slowed down their overall pace.

Taranee quickly shook her head, smiling weakly as she did her best to once again lull her new friend's fears.

"Nooo, no. What I said was that she gives . . . tough, b-but fair instruction. I'd say she's that way for any of the classes she teaches, though, right? Don't you have her for Biology?"

"W-Well, yeah, sure, but I mean, it's Biology, though. That's something I can handle, as you know about me by now. This is a completely different ballpark we're dealing with," Will muttered underneath her breath, her heart beginning to beat rapidly, as her mind willed itself to block out the varying 'horror' stories she'd already been told from her fellow housemates about how . . . hardcore, at times, Professor Starlighter's presiding tutorials could truly become. "Just know that if I die within the next fifty minutes, I'm holding you directly responsible for spouting out misinformation. . . ."

Rolling her eyes at this, Taranee nonetheless softly giggled as both girls at last came to a complete stop, taking their place beside the Rahne and Roberto duo after they had gone on ahead moments before, and quietly waited for the remainder of their average sized class of fourteen to catch up.

As they did so, Will then seized the opportunity to try to grasp a better understanding of what would be expected of her that day, as she keenly looked about the vast field . . . but saw nothing.

Well, no, that wasn't entirely true, as to her left she could see a little side trail which appeared to lead to a mildly thick forest area . . . though she highly doubted that any of them would be asked to go hiking as their most strenuous activity to occur that day.

Beyond that, there was just the bare, seemingly never-ending land, and a . . . rather stern looking Professor Starlighter standing otherwise patiently before them, with her arms draped neatly behind her back.

Unlike the slightly drab uniforms each of her students were presently wearing, the older woman evidently preferred to inject some color into her own attire, as she was elegantly draped within purple colored sari pants, with a matching long sleeved, and turtlenecked blouse.

Taranee had randomly informed Will last week that one thing she enjoyed during her Danger Room training exercises was observing the personal touch Professor Starlighter always brought with her lessons, as this appeared to be really the only time the Indian woman would openly reveal a bit more of herself, including her heritage, to her students.

"It's just nice to see that maybe she isn't just all business, day in and day out, you know?" she'd casually commented at the time, causing Will to just then unconsciously nod to herself at the memory.

Her habitually braided and long, salt and pepper ponytail now meticulously wrapped up into a tight bun, Professor Starlighter nodded curtly toward the last of her students whom just finished trickling onto the field.

". . . . All right, good. Good afternoon, class. As you know, this past weekend had been . . . particularly harrowing, and as announced by your headmaster, your other professors and I will hereby be instructing you through additional training exercises until stated otherwise," the traditionally serious woman at last spoke, officially commencing her lesson. "As such, several of your Danger Room exertions will now be conducted outside, a transition which would have normally occurred at a later date as each of you gradually progressed within advancement. However, as clearly illustrated on Friday night, there is no simple 'off switch' within the real world, and thus, we cannot afford to simply sit on our hands and wait for the next near tragic event to catch you all unawares. . . .

"And so, today's overall agenda to take away: Being aware of one's surroundings, and utilizing one's gifts accordingly, if and when a precarious situation should arise. The first half? Stationary target practice, just as you've been used to up to now, in order to help build upon our momentum. And then, the second half: A simple race to the finish within that trail path over there, alongside the partner . . . of your choosing. . . ."

"Y-Yeah, all right! Sounds like cake, today!" Will heard the random brunet standing next to her suddenly cheer, an overly confident smirk adorning his lightly tanned face. "O-Oops, sorry about that, Professor Starlighter. Speaking out of turn, I mean. I'm just excited, that's all!"

"Hmm . . . glad to hear it, Mister Drake. You can go first, then," Professor Starlighter remarked within her usual, no nonsense tone, although her gray eyes suddenly giving off a curiously mischievous, and knowing twinkle as she then extended a single hand out toward the middle of the unassuming field. "Please. Do take your mark."

"Oooh . . . this is gonna be good!"

"Nice knowing you, Bobby!"

"I don't like the direction this is heading. . . ."

came the varying comments of Will's surrounding peers, majority of them clearly used to the boy apparently named Bobby's boisterous outbursts as they simply stood and watched him now begin to walk further out onto the field with far less pep than before.

Now standing upon what was essentially the middle of the large area a few feet away, Bobby gently cleared his throat before asking, "U-Uhhh, okay! I'm ready to go, Professor Starlighter! But where are the – A-Ahhh!"

Bobby hadn't even any time to finish his sentence before he then found himself being catapulted several feet into the air by the sudden rise of earth formerly beneath his feet.

Will's eyes instantly widened within understandable alarm, watching with mounting concern as Professor Starlighter calmly walked ahead of her, both arms now stretched and palms open, as she was clearly the one to have created the rather unexpected land formation.

As Bobby was about to hit the ground, his entire body suddenly turned to complete ice, startling Will as a result, while the rest of her classmates also watched on with a divided reception of open encouragement for both sides of the apparent sparring match.

Seeming to have gathered his wits about him, at least long enough to quickly tuck and roll his uniquely encased body before sustaining any serious harm, Bobby then began to hurriedly fire off random, icy projectiles from out of his right hand toward his approaching instructor.

A steady stream of solid ice effortlessly shot from out of his left, directing it toward the ground before hurriedly jumping onto it and more or less . . . surfing as far away from the undeniably intimidating Professor Starlighter as he could.

A quarter of the field now resembling a partially frozen ice skating rink, Professor Starlighter remained undeterred by her student's admittedly halfhearted attempts of keeping her at bay, as she effortlessly dodged Bobby's icy projectiles, maneuvering her body out of the way each time with incredible finesse.

Appearing to desperately yearning to shift the tide of battle, thankfully managing to successfully skirt a few of Professor Starlighter's newly summoned boulders, Bobby abruptly redirected his previous trajectory further away from her, and bravely decided to attack her straight on.

"Ahhhh!" he cried, both arms now raised high above his head and hands glowing a stark white as he quickly jumped off from the slight ramp he'd then created for himself.

Will let out a slight gasp as she continued the watch the ongoing spectacle, growing a bit impressed that it very much now appeared as though Bobby had their teacher right where he wanted her.

A rather large ball of ice now forming in between his illuminated palms, Bobby was about to hurl it straight down on top of Professor Starlighter . . . before she let out a sharp grunt as she immediately stopped her own advancement, raising her left hand straight into the air within a jerking motion, at the same time the ground beneath her violently began to shake.

Without any further warning did a set of tremendously thick, tall, and green colored vines suddenly spring forth and rise high above the previously in tact earth, the first one continuing to climb straight toward the clouds before vigorously flailing around like a whip right before easily splintering Bobby's recently formed ball of ice.

As the skies now began showering both Bobby, as well as herself with sporadic pieces of frozen water, Professor Starlighter let out another, heated cry as she further tapped into her Geokinetic abilities, this time punching the air directly in front of her with her right hand, causing the second, manifested vine to do the very same . . . straight into Bobby's abdomen.

"A-Argh!" he groaned within obvious pain, his body no longer completely covered within ice, evidently no longer able to maintain his concentration, as the force through which he'd been knocked sent him flying backward, and right toward his icy incline.

"O-Ohhh, man . . . he is definitely going to be feeling that for a while, even through his ice armor," Roberto stated with a sympathetic wince as he and the rest of his peerage watched as Bobby's vaguely scrawny body then landed against the sheet of ice with an unceremonious thud, before blindly sliding back down toward the ground. "See? This is why I at least know better to keep my mouth shut whenever any lesson's going down!"

At this, Rahne let out a brief scoff before stating, "What are you on about? You also got a sound taste of Professor Starlighter's awesome skills just last week!"

"E-Er, yeahhh . . . which is why I now know better to keep my mouth shut whenever any lesson's going down, like I said!"

Having covered her mouth that entire time without having realized, Will initially began mumbling into it, causing Taranee to lean forward and quietly whisper, ". . . . W-What did you say, Will?"

Partially snapping from out of her understandably fearful daze, Will promptly pulled her hand away as she hissed, "I-I said that you'd better have that eulogy ready to go!"

Taranee couldn't help but release a heavy exhale past her lips, although she could at least continue to understand the redhead's ongoing trepidation.

"Everything will be fine, Will, really. . . . I know it looks bad right now, c-clearly, but like you just heard Roberto say, it's only if you're being openly disrespectful, like while the professor is trying to teach either her Danger Room or normal classes, that things might get. . . ."

"'Intense?' Yeah, see, intense. Didn't I just say that a few minutes ago? Oh, God. . . ." Will completed her friend's sentence, knowing precisely what Taranee was going to say, slapping a hand to her forehead as she quickly made a mental note to never do anything which might set the daunting teacher off the next time Will went to her Biology class.

She wouldn't even sneeze, lest it might result within a day of detention, which scarily encompassed fighting off a flower bed of man eating vines, and whatever else Professor Starlighter saw fit to manifest. . . .

". . . . Are you able to stand, Mister Drake?" Will could just make out Professor Starlighter coolly inquire within the slight distance upon the now partially disheveled field, as the tall woman now calmly loomed over a grunting Bobby.

"M-Mm . . . uh, I-I think so, yeah. U-Ughhh. . . ." he shakily responded in between breaths, gingerly rubbing at his stomach before slowly rising to his feet.

"Good. Then you may rejoin your classmates. I hope that this experience was every bit of . . . 'cake' as you'd so boldly proclaimed," Professor Starlighter delivered evenly with a slight nod, momentarily watching her conquered student commence the walk of shame back to his awaiting peers, before stretching her arms out toward the various mounds of earth and vines she had created.

Within a few moments, the field was again more or less as it once was, with any newcomers being none the wiser that a previous scuffle had occurred, save the remaining trails of ice left behind by Bobby.

"Now . . . while Mister Drake seizes this opportunity to recuperate, who would like to go first, properly?" Professor Starlighter asked as she resumed her general lesson without missing a beat, walking back toward her pupils, all of whom now appeared incredibly nervous. ". . . . Don't all volunteer at once, now. . . . A-Ah, yes. Today we have a new addition, I'd nearly forgotten. Miss Vandom. Why don't you do us the honor of being the first to proceed, then? Better to simply get it over with, after all."

N-No . . . not if it means ending up like Bobby, or worse it does, Will nervously mused, scrunching up her face and abruptly stopping short within the middle of attempting to blend in toward the back of the group before her instructor could have noticed her.

Sadly, this clearly was not the case, as Will somehow forced her legs to carry her out onto the field, giving a quick glance toward Taranee as she passed, who flashed her a quick thumbs up and as encouraging a smile as she could manage.

Further recalling her overall training thus far, remembering to maintain proper breathing while centering herself as much as possible, Will briefly took a moment to gaze down at her hands in time to see that they were positively quivering.

It was certainly a good thing that she was presently wearing a pair of gloves, or else she wouldn't be able to grip a single thing if need be, as her palms were also becoming rather sweaty, as well.

Quickly opening and closing both palms, silently scolding herself to snap out of it and simply remember everything she'd already accomplished within such a short amount of time, Will braced herself for whatever happened next.

She didn't have to wait long, however, as directly in front of her suddenly rose several rows of targets from out of the ground – Four, in fact, each with a blue tinted, medium sized bullseye centered upon them.

"As you can see, the targets are stationary, just as previously stated. There are also six targets, four rows in total with each aligned within a zigzag like formation, and spread out a good distance. This is to give you ample viewing space, at the same time possibly making it a bit more challenging to successfully maintain your precision as you progress," Will avidly listened to Professor Starlighter explain from behind. "Now, as it's to my understanding from your other professors, you, Will, despite still learning primarily the basics from them, you have simultaneously been taking the initiative of further honing in upon your abilities on your own time, correct? That you are now, in fact, able to create ball lightning on command?"

Face growing incredibly hot as she was regrettably put onto the spot even further, Will sheepishly nodded as she turned around to respectfully face her teacher, lest she reignite the woman's ire.

"Y-Yes, Professor Starlighter, I-I have. That is, I have been trying my best to get the hang of my powers, and did let Professor Lin know about this during my 'Elemental Manipulation 101' class," she replied obediently with another nod, briefly marveling at how quickly word evidently traveled between the institute's staff, considering Will had only just informed Hay Lin's grandmother of this news last period.

Will felt herself blinking rapidly within surprise a moment, as the usually non-indulgent woman suddenly bestowed upon her a faint, yet still noticeable smile of apparent approval at this.

". . . . Very good. Diligence and perseverance are indeed key, particularly for your specific gifts," she complimented, before, just like that, the smile was gone, replaced by a curiously far off, almost resentful sort of stare as she coldly added, ". . . . Just be sure to make certain that such power does not go to your head."

"O-Oh, uh . . . uh, I . . . won't?" Will awkwardly stammered within response, managing a discreet glance toward Taranee, who also appeared every bit as befuddled by their professor's odd, emotional shift as Will was.

Regardless, it was over as quickly as it had occurred, as Professor Starlighter effortlessly fell back into place with her regularly collected demeanor, nodding toward Will before calmly stating, "All right. You may begin."

Sharply sucking in her breath, Will bit down onto her bottom lip as she held it in a moment, before then releasing it as a gruff exhale before turning back around to face her literal targets.

. . . . You've got this, Will, she privately continued to coach, gazing toward her now cradled hands, as she proceeded to attempt summoning up her mutant ability.

Thankfully, it hadn't taken much time at all, Will now feeling rather pleased with herself that all of her separate exercises have actually been paying off as a result, and she couldn't help but smile to herself as she peered down at her now sparking hands.

She fleetingly wondered if her gloves were perhaps made from similar material as that of lineman workers, considering the pair was successfully remaining in tact as the intimidating element continued crackling angrily in between them.

Quickly putting the thought aside, Will returned all her focus to the task at hand, carefully lifting her now dormant left hand away from her right, which continued to sustain the small, but lethal sphere of lightning.

All right, Will . . . just . . . pretend you're playing baseball. One really . . . violent game of baseball, she mused with a faint nod, raising her electrified hand into the air as she slowly revved up her pitch.

Will let out a soft grunt as she then hurled the lightning ball toward what she hoped to be the easiest target within the first row, the one directly in front of her . . . and she was right.

Will couldn't help but let out a happy squeal as she watched as she'd actually made her mark, clapping both hands together within furthered triumph.

It might not have been a perfect bullseye, hitting more so the upper right edge of the target, in fact, but she'd done it.

And, to Will's ongoing surprise, even several of her fellow classmates followed suit within the honest achievement, as well.

Even Bobby, whom she had honestly thought might have been feeling pretty miffed over his previous, and honestly embarrassing defeat was effortlessly joining in within the revelry, pumping one fist into the air while gingerly still massaging at his stomach with the other.

She really couldn't get over the complete one-eighty her recent change within social environment had done within just the past few weeks. . . .

Now feeling a little less self conscious, as well as uncertain, Will took another deep breath before successfully repeating the process of creating yet another ball of lightning.

Over the next few minutes, Will didn't think she could have been any prouder of herself, as not only had she to hit every single target within the first two rows, but she'd even managed to actually clip one from each of the remaining two.

It might not have been all twenty-four, nor were any perfectly snagged within the middle, but considering that she hadn't expected to land even one, Will could safely say that it wasn't a bad first attempt, all in all.

Even Professor Starlighter appeared to be pretty impressed, as well, informing Will that she truly was coming along rather nicely with her overall progression, before she'd then called upon the next student to give it a try.

Once everyone had successfully satisfied the first half of her lesson, Professor Starlighter then allowed her students a few moments to rest before pairing up for their apparent race . . . something which Will had honestly forgotten all about, she had been too busy riding her previous high of personal victory.

"O-Oh, right . . . the race," she murmured to herself, her previously allayed nerves slowly returning as her brown eyes slid toward the thick forest trail where the next activity was meant to take place.

Taranee, whom had gone last during the prior exercise, lightly smiled and rested a hand upon Will's shoulder as the pair now stood side by side once more.

Watching her in action had been rather intriguing to Will, quite honestly, as Taranee's own version of target practice had primarily consisted of her simply trying to melt as many of them as she could via her mind, given that she currently could not manifest any fireballs, otherwise.

True, her Thermokinetic abilities might one day soon evolve and allow her to do so, as Will now understood, but, like always, Taranee was quite content with what she could achieve at the moment . . . especially considering her undeniable satisfaction at having managed to burn twenty-two of the twenty-four targets.

A personal milestone, according to her.

"Aw, hey. If you could manage to take out several of those targets, and during your first Danger Room session, then a little race should be no problem, right? Would you like to be my partner?" Taranee asked with another smile, the act managing to immediately loosen up Will's slight nerves as she nodded within response.

"Yeah, sure, Taranee, thanks. And you're right! I'm not saying that they won't become more challenging, duh, but today's Danger Room experience really did turn out to be all right. Guess you won't need to get that eulogy ready, after all," she giggled, before unconsciously already beginning to lead the way toward the trail's entrance.

"Ahh, I see we have our first volunteers. Apparently, you've become taken with starting things off, now, haven't you, Will?" Professor Starlighter called out from behind the duo, both feeling uncertain whether or not the older woman had been attempting to make a joke. "All right, then. Again, the objective is the same as before: Hit as many targets as possible. However, this time, not only will they be moving, but will be hidden within various areas along the trail. You must also keep your partner safe, and vice versa, as you both proceed toward the finish line . . . as there will be a few surprises along the way, possibly impeding your progression. This is where we will see how aware each of you truly are of your surroundings, so do your absolute best to keep your heads, and utilize your gifts accordingly to make it through. . . ."

". . . . O-Ohh, God. I think I definitely spoke too soon about today not being too bad, after all," Will whispered to herself as both Professor Starlighter, and the rest of her class approached.

Both randomly waving toward a few of their classmates, who were now once again openly showing their support and overall encouragement, Will and Taranee then glanced at one another within mutual apprehension, before slowly heading down the trail.

". . . . You think it's gonna be like some sort of . . . ring of fire we'll be meant to contend with before reaching the finish line?" Will listened to Taranee's obvious nervousness finally rising to the surface, after a few minutes of formerly uneventful silence. "O-Or maybe like a . . . a-a tiger, and a lion, together, both of whom would jump through said ring of fire, before charging at us. . . ."

". . . . Well, I mean . . . if we were maybe somewhere else, instead, like the circus. Then I guess, sure, why not," Will attempted to jest, though her own mind was understandably racing, as both girls continued to wonder whatever was in store for them. "It's honestly more so the fact that so far we've been met with absolutely nothing, and we've been in here for maybe . . . at least five minutes, or so. It's like we're just on an afternoon nature walk through a regular for – Ahh!"

Will barely had enough time to reach for Taranee and yank her down onto the ground with her, seconds before a fast approaching and small, red colored ball nearly hit the both of them, simultaneously.

"A-Ah! What was that?" Taranee cried out, random leaves now adorning her head as she frantically readjusted her glasses.

Looking up in time to see the formerly in tact projectile abruptly splatter, ruthlessly, against the tall tree which had been closest to them, both teenagers let out a sharp gasp as they at the same muttered, ". . . . P-Paintballs!"

"Professor Starlighter does know how much those things can hurt, right?" Will nervously questioned, carefully rolling off of her friend and remained crouched down upon her knees for continued cover.

Taranee nodded vigorously within obvious agreement.

"I-I've only ever played once before with my dad and older brother, and I don't plan to again any time soon! I was sore for almost a week after getting pegged only twice – A-And that was even with all of the necessary protective gear!" she hissed with a shake of her head, smartly choosing to stay low alongside her friend. "B-But let's get out of here! I think if we just maintain cover and stay on high alert like this, we'll make it!"

And with a quick nod of mutual understanding, they were off, apparently preferring, at least initially, to take on the defensive, strategically charging further down the seemingly never-ending path and toward what would hopefully be a successful end.

Evidently, their professor had truly intended to lull them into a false sense of security during the beginning half of their lesson, as things immediately went from zero to one hundred within seconds.

Each girl barely had any time to verbally communicate with one another, as they were frantically dodging the sudden onslaught of paintballs from all sides, now, causing them to repeatedly duck for cover, in between trying to further assess their overall predicament.

". . . . W-Wh . . . Where the hell are these damned moving targets, anyway?" Will managed to call out from her place tucked within a random bush, twigs and other such foliage now completely covering her own body.

"I-I'm . . . beginning to think that these are the targets, Will!" Taranee cried within heated response in the near distance across from her, strategically hidden behind yet another tree, before then carefully risking a chance to pop her head up in order to point toward the menacing projectiles. "T-They obviously must be coming from somewhere! If we can . . . can locate the source, then we'll be able to put a stop to all this chaos!"

Taking a moment to register her companion's open train of thought, Will nodded firmly before stating, "A-All right! Better than keep trying to play tag with these things, anyway! But where are – ! Ooh! Hey, hey! I think I just saw one! Up there, in that tree behind you!"

"W-Wha – ?" Taranee yelped within alarm, quickly maneuvering around her own tree and away from the direction she could see Will avidly pointing. "I don't see any – ! Yes, yes! There it is!"

Before she even knew what she was doing, Will bravely charged forward from out of her hiding spot, an impressively large sphere of lightning cradled within one hand as she ran toward a now startled Taranee.

"A-Argh!" Will grunted, roughly volleying the bolt of lightning as far as she could before diving for renewed cover beside the awaiting Taranee.

Both girls watched within immense relief as Will's previous target practice appeared to already be paying off, as the menacing looking, and automated . . . rifle of sorts, which had previously been undetected high within its tree abruptly began malfunctioning, the white hot electricity clearly interfering with its apparent circuitry.

Now making repeated whirring noises, thankfully unable to resume its previous paintball barrage as it continued sparking uncontrollably, Will hurriedly seized Taranee's hand as she cried, "Now l-let's go! Quick, before that thing resets itself, or whatever!"

A renewed vigor of hope infused itself into each of their veins, as Will, and now Taranee, proceeded to use their mutant abilities, as previously instructed by their professor, as they courageously pressed on.

They were honestly falling more and more into step with one another, making quite a team, indeed, as each girl covered the other without much prompt.

It was certainly tricky, rather exhausting, in addition to hair-pulling, having to still somehow dodge, if not actively destroy the multitude of paintballs which continued flying toward them with abandon, but at least they were making conscious progress each time they'd managed to locate, and then subdue the various sources.

Taranee let out a deep sigh of ease as she was the first to spot the large, erected white flag within the distance, just making out that it read the word "Finish" within bold, black letters printed upon it.

"T-There! I can see the end!" she exclaimed happily, at the same time she'd successfully finished partially melting the front half of yet another computerized paintball gun, which had just then unexpectedly risen from out of the ground at her side.

Will couldn't help but chuckle within blatant elation toward the news, just then also spotting the finish area, before quickly rushing on ahead to suddenly stand directly beside Taranee. "I-I think I have an idea that might get us through the final stretch! You just have to keep attacking . . . m-maybe!"

"U-Uh . . . all right!" Taranee stammered out hesitantly, refocusing her attention back onto the, quote, unquote, battlefield, reactivating her Thermokinetic gifts as she did so.

Will, meanwhile, silently prayed that her newest plan would even work, as the last time she'd attempted this it had also been the first, not to mention during a moment of extreme duress.

But then, I suppose this is also sort of another moment of duress, so . . . here goes! Will quickly mentally correlated, taking a few moments before abruptly thrusting both arms high above hers, and Taranee's heads.

Almost immediately, an electrified dome, quite identical to the one which had appeared in time to protect both Elyon and Julian from the collapsing amphitheater that past Friday, suddenly manifested into existence, popping and sparking intensely as it now began protecting both Will, and Taranee.

Determined not to let her teammate down, Will put her all into successfully maintaining the lightning based shield, watching with delight as the once treacherous paintballs which had been threatening to strike them down at any time effortlessly disintegrated into nothingness upon impact.

"W-Wow!" was all Taranee could initially manage in between continued grunts and gasps as she, too, did her own part beside Will, raising both arms on either side of her as her now . . . suddenly orange glowing hands successfully emitted intense heatwaves somehow through the shield, and toward the several new paintball guns which then came into view. "T-This must be what Elyon was referring to when she kept talking about the shield you'd used to save her life! Awesome!"

"Y-Yeah . . . thanks! Too bad I'm too scared to move from out of this spot while doing this, or else we could probably just run the rest of the way down the path, fully protected!"

Taranee briefly nodded within understanding, the previous, concentrating frown upon her face deepening as her body curiously began to grow even more hot than it'd naturally been already.

"No worries! I can see a few more machines popping up from where we are, so I-I'll continue handling them for –!" she stated with vague confidence, before both hers, and Will's eyes immediately widened within alarm, as from out of both hands suddenly shot out a large, wildly dancing ball of actual fire. . . .

It was certainly a good thing that the apparently latest advancement within Taranee's mutant gifts honestly startled Will enough to break her overall focus, causing her to drop their previous armor, or else she was quite certain that the violent element might have instead possibly ricocheted from off of it on the inside, before setting the two of them aflame.

"A-Ahhh!" both girls cried out, Taranee honestly beginning to hyperventilate by that point as they promptly ducked, watching as the citrus colored flames whizzed further into the forest on either side, and completely missed their originally intended marks.

Leaving random scorch marks upon a few, random and innocent bushes before then abruptly settling onto the ground within a small clearing, as though someone had just created a campsite, Taranee's newly manifested fireballs continued flickering within the distance, almost within a beckoning motion, causing her blood to frighteningly ice over.

Will, sensing her friend's understandable upset toward the present development, wished to immediately comfort and be there for her, the way she'd already been for her several times over throughout their newfound companionship.

However, given that they no longer possessed any active protection from the renewed onrush still heading their way, she quickly seized Taranee's now dormant hand before crying, "C-Come on! Let's make that run for it!"

A weak, almost dazed nod was all Taranee gave as an active response before immediately picking up the pace, the two girls blazing down the rest of the trail path and closing the distance between the finish line and themselves as quickly as they could.

Will didn't know how they'd managed it, but by some miracle they'd made it through the entire race without getting hit by a single –

"Y-Yarrgh!"

"W-Whoaaa!"

Suddenly, the world around them grew quite tall, or, so it seemed, as Taranee and Will felt themselves falling through the apparent hole which had been conveniently camouflaged a mere foot or two away from the previously awaiting flag.

Will didn't know which was worse: The fact that they had been literally so close to their final destination, and had embarrassingly dropped their guard . . . or the fact that the abrupt drop had been punctuated by the regrettably familiar, slapping sting of a paintball exploding against her rear end.

Twice. . . .

Groaning out within understandable pain, Taranee was the first to attempt standing up within the thankfully shallow trap, curiously rubbing at the lower left side of her back as she did so.

"O-Ow . . . ohhh, my God! I-I told you those paintballs can hurt!" she winced heatedly, her apparent, world renowned irritability returning as she, at least for now, it seemed, put aside the fact that her worst nightmare had only just then come true mere moments ago.

"M-Mmm . . . no, actually, I'm the one who'd literally said that, but yeah. You're still definitely r-right!" Will violently breathed out in between crescendos of physical affliction, gingerly rolling onto her hands and knees in order to futilely alleviate a bit of agony from her now throbbing behind. "A-And I'm pretty sure that I got snagged twice, too – In the same spot! I don't think I'm gonna be able to sit properly for like a week, now!"

". . . . And this is the end result of what happens when one is not more aware of their environment," both girls looked up in time to see Professor Starlighter suddenly peering down at them from above, before quickly reactivating her Geokinetic abilities through her hands and carefully raised the indented earth beneath them. "Absolutely anything can happen at any time, even when it would appear that the way is clear. . . . However, I will commend you both on your overall teamwork, as well as making it this far. I'd half expected one of the machines to have marked you quite earlier on, if I'm being honest."

Will immediately bit back the urge to openly ponder if that was meant to be a compliment, or insult, though she, too, had originally felt the same way, herself . . . at least, toward her own self, anyhow.

Both Rahne and Roberto, the first amongst their gathering peers to rush forward to help Taranee and Will back onto their feet, each gave them a congratulatory tap upon their shoulders before Will quietly asked, "U-Uh . . . o-ouch, ssss. . . . D-Does this mean we passed, o-or failed this exercise, though, Professor?"

"If you're worried I am about to have you two run through the course again, then the answer is no, Will. At least, not today, anyhow," Professor Starlighter responded after resealing the previous hole her students had gracelessly fallen into. "I suspect you'll be giving your first Danger Room exercise some serious thought, however, and will take what you've learned today and apply it toward the following lesson, yes? Now . . . allow me a few moments to reset the course before our next team proceeds. And no, do not expect the same experience, now that you've all journeyed down the hill and caught a glimpse. You're fully aware by now that the Danger Room is more than capable of accommodating most any scenario. . . ."

". . . . Hearing her say that makes me really not want to go into the actual room whenever that is, if its reach evidently extends all the way out here, in addition to having a lot more tricks and goodies within its arsenal, even after all the damage we'd done back there," Will murmured quietly to Taranee with a slight shiver as the two were then dismissed from the course, each of their limbs now burning within fatigue as they slowly hobbled away.

"We weren't allowed to come down to really watch you guys since I guess, 'spoilers,' but seeing as you'd made it out in one piece, more or less, I bet you two kicked ass in there! You'd made it close to the end, anyways," Roberto complimented with a large grin as he and Rahne fell into step alongside their slightly wounded classmates, and offered their own bodies for physical support.

"Yeah! Especially you, Will, since this was your first time going toe to toe with the D.R.! I hope whatever awaits Roberto and I when we go won't be any worse than . . . paintballs, right?" Rahne agreed with an encouraging nod and smile, pointing toward Will's red splattered backside as discreetly as she could.

Will let out a well timed winced at this, and nodded.

"O-Oooh . . . yeah, paintballs. Millions of them, at that. And now, thanks to them, it now feels like my butt's on fire each time I take a step," she tiredly remarked, slowing down her pace a bit as a result, before flashing Taranee a sympathetic smile toward her particular choice of words.

"Ho, ho! And what a hot butt it – O-Ow! I was kidding, babe, I'm sorry!" Roberto began to openly flirt once more, before promptly receiving a hard punch into the arm he previously had wrapped around Will's waist from Rahne, causing him to automatically release her in order to tend to his own, newfound wound.

"Keep testing me! Unless you'd like for me to make that 'beautiful' face of yours my new chew toy!" Rahne warned darkly, carefully letting go of Taranee once they'd made it back to the top of the small hill, before beginning to chase after the half chuckling, half terrified Roberto.

". . . . They're certainly an . . . interesting couple," Will muttered with a light sigh and shake of her head, before turning her full attention onto Taranee. "H-Hey, that was um . . . some pretty impressive moves you'd had back there. Thanks for having my back, Taranee."

She wasn't entirely sure if she could, or indeed should bring up the fact that the pyrophobic girl had just become pyrokinetic, as she naturally didn't want to trigger Taranee's anxiety any further.

And seeing as she appeared to promptly push the incident aside, Will supposed that Taranee naturally was not yet ready to completely face facts . . . although she suspected that once she did, it most probably wasn't going to be pretty. . . .

For now, at least, Taranee much preferred to remain very much within the now, as she tiredly nodded her friend and weakly smiled, before collapsing onto the ground to properly rest.

"You . . . You get used to their dynamic relatively quickly, I suppose . . . although if I were Rahne I'd either have Roberto put the kibosh on his whole shtick, or tell him to find himself a new girlfriend – Especially since it appears he enjoys flirting with all newcomers, seeing as he'd done the same with me when I'd first arrived, myself," she opined with another nod and light, disapproving frown, appearing to ignore Will's final comment as she shifted over a bit before reaching her hand up into the air toward her. "Want me to help you down?"

"No, no, I'm good. I'm probably gonna take the next hour or so getting used to standing everywhere, in between icing my poor rump," Will sighed, shaking her head as she politely turned down the offer, before pausing a moment as she thought of how next to steer the overall conversation. "But, hey . . . how's about after we're all dismissed and get cleaned up, we head over to the dining hall and grab the biggest bowl of ice cream we can get?"

Will watched as the pensive, honestly terror filled facial expression which was slowly beginning to form upon Taranee's face promptly subsided, before happily nodding.

"That sounds like the best course of action we've had today, Will. I can definitely get behind that. . . ."

- End of Chapter Eleven

(A.N. Paintballs really DO freaking hurt so much, my dude...but still fun to play. LoL

But, yeah! Wowwww, so a lot definitely happened within this chapter. At least, socially, I suppose, I dunno. LoL Thirty pages of random, teenage drama and chaos, thankfully gone! :)

Yes, yes, definitely-obviously the others, especially Taranee, now will more of their own p.o.v. moments, but I'd wanted to finnnnnnnnally get one full day's worth of everyone's typical scholastic experience...at LEAST once. It was honestly bugging me. LoL

AND, bonus, I also got to have pretty much non-stop powers exhibition, which evidently a lot of you also enjoy 'seeing,' so...there ya go! :p

Kadma's comment about there 'are no off switches within the real world' might sound familiar to those who've watched "X-Men: Evolution," as it's what Logan had apparently said to the New Mutants before beginning their training course outdoors. Seeing as I can kinda see the two of them always bringing their A-game whenever teaching their students, I just HAD to use it, as well. :p

I mean, she DID basically beat the crap out of one of her students, after all, and it's apparently completely 'normal,' and legal. LoL

ALSO, seeing as it's still W.I.T.C.H. characters, I also just had to make Kadma's D.R. suit slightly similar to her Guardian outfit...but I mean, only very slightly, though. :) Still purplish, though!

Speaking of beating students up, a few canon X-Men charries to rundown here, again, in case some of you didn't know: Bobby Drake/Iceman, the very 'lucky' student to have gone head to head against Kadma. LoL Then there's Roberto da Costa/Sunspot, and his girlfriend, Rahne Sinclair/Wolfsbane. Oh! And also making her official, speaking debut, Tabitha Smith/Boom Boom. I'd mentioned her during an earlier chapter, already, but there she was, within her flirtatious, free spirit glory. =) And again, they're all their "Evolution" portrayals here, more or less, so's we're clear, yay!

Although I was aware the slight, unfortunately sexual innuendo which could have been had from Tabitha's 'ball comment' during gym class lol, she was more so alluding to her specific mutant ability. :p I don't honestly know if anyone reading is actually familiar with this canon character, again, but basically she can generate plasma balls. And seeing as she usually tends to create teeny versions of them – A lot of them, like she does on "Evolution," for example, all that was the reasoning behind her statement...and I guess also why she's apparently pretty good at sports like basketball. At least here, anyway. :p

And yes, I did bring up circuit training, again, as I usually end up doing within some way if I feature a gym class within my stories, because what the honest hell, right? Cuz I'm so sure that's what we all looked forward to doing during gym class in school, just like we were already looking forward to going in the first place... LoL

Circuit training blew, and still blows, sorry. LoL Everything else, and gym class in general was just fine, but not that. Whenever that was on the 'menu,' my friends and I honestly just checked out, and went into 'bear minimum mode.' Try it, it works. LoL No no! Give it your all, everyone, yayyyy! :p

Uhhh...yeah. That whole 'shipping Caleb off to Abu Dhabi' remark was in reference to the old school Garfield cartoon in the '80s, I think? Yeah, sure. LoL Man I loved watching that in the mornings while getting ready for school when I was a kid... I sound so super old now, saying it like that. LoL But no, really. They'd give reruns of it at the time, I guess, when I was in middle school, and I'd always chuckle whenever Garfield would threaten stupid Nermal and his insufferable 'cuteness' by saying he'd ship him to Abu Dhabi. Most times he did, but then that damned kitten would just come right back with a 'Return to sender' label put on the box, usually. LoL …...I'll stop, now. :p But, seriously, though: How many of you, whom actually know what I'm on about, also believed Nermal was a female kitty, thanks to the voice actor, plus SUPER long 'cute' eyelashes? :p

…...Moving on. LoL

Throwing in later on that Rahne's normally light accent thickens whenever pissed off is mostly a nod to sooo many people in my life, namely my hubby, my 'rents, and I guess, myself, all of whom possess varying accents by default. LoL At least, according to hubby, I do, anyway.

I don't personally hear it...unless I also get upset, maybe, or within super babbling mode, like right now... :p

Any of yooze guys have an accent, as well, and if so, does it deepen/thicken a bit depending upon your mood, too? Do you even notice at all, or do people constantly have to point it out...and then tease you about it? LoL Lemme know! =)

Ooh, ooh! Also let me know which way you guys call it whenever playing badminton, yourselves: 'Birdie,' or 'Shuttlecock?' I generally say either or, myself, although I purposefully refer to it as a 'birdie,' solely to annoy my husband, whom ALLLLWAAAAYS gets 'triggered' about it, and promptly corrects me. LoL

….Just like 'al-you-mini-um,' instead of 'a-LOO-mi-num' for the word aluminum, for example. That one REALLY gets him going. LoL

Or 'TA-coh,' instead of 'tah-coh,' for taco. This one I'M the one who likes to randomly 'teach' him and go, out of nowhere, "...Tah-coh?", like I'm teaching my youngest Tornado Baby to talk, to which he'll simply reply, "TA-coh."

Sigh. It's a process...not really. =)

Anyway! Think that's it! The rest I'll just hopefully get to see you all comment on and discuss like made within your reviews! :)

Hope you enjoyed, enjoy your 4th of July if you celebrate, and stay tuned for the next chapter, where I'll have to shove the Phobos 'intro' I'd planned for THIS one, yayyy!)