Re-Evolution: Episode 2: In the Blood

Greg didn't like letting his sister leave without going after her, but he had to admit, chasing her down whenever they had a fight just didn't work.

It always seemed that whenever he did, she'd just get more upset. So perhaps the Professor was right when he told her that she needed a little space. 

After the chaos of the Danger Room, there had been a bit more discussion, a bit about the incident, his enrollment, and his sister--but Professor Xavier had told him that the Danger Room was no place for a serious discussion. He'd offered Greg the chance to take a moment to breath, asking only that when he was ready he meet him in his office to finalize the whole thing.

Greg was happy enough to go along with it, despite not quite knowing how much a few deep breaths were going to help his current state.. After the professor had departed, he shot Scott an apologetic, and slightly exhausted smile.

Scott smiled back, rubbing the back of his neck. 

"Sorry things went so wrong, Greg, but I'm glad you're thinking of staying with us anyway." He hesitated before he said, "and I'm sorry about your sister. I know how important family can be."

Greg nodded fidgeting a bit uncomfortably himself. 

"Yeah? Glad it's not just me. Heh.. Morgan and I have been on the outs lately. this.... didn't help."

Scott pat his shoulder. 

"It's certainly not. Trust me." He shook his head "...hey, maybe with time she'll come around and the two of you can work it out. Until then..You've got a home here, if you want it. Xavier can sort out all the details when you talk."

"Yeah, that.... sounds great" he nodded. "Should I go see him now or what?" 

He followed Scott as they walked out of the danger room.

"Might not be a bad idea. Then we could get a room ready for you."  He thought for a moment "by the way. That was one heck of an ability back there. I'd love to see what you can do with it when you've got more control."

"Me too," he admitted pausing. "That was the uh, first time *that* happened to me. I... wasn't sure I was going to change back."

"Wish I could say that wasn't a possibility," Scott said, "but sometimes that's the way these gifts of ours go. Looks like you got lucky, Greg. It seems to be like a switch, on and off. You just need to learn how to trigger it."

"Yeah," he nodded, scratching his chin and thinking of the claws he'd had not too long ago. "Guess I did get lucky. ...alright, I'll go see the professor. I want to get this started."

"I'll take you to his office, Greg, come on." He waved over his shoulder as he made his way down the hall and finally away from the Danger Room.

"Thanks, Scott," he said, hurrying along with him at a half jog. "Hey uh, you were pretty cool in there by the way. You saved my ass."

Scott laughed, tapping his glasses. 

"Glad my eyes could come in handy, kid." He shook his head. "I wasn't about to let a new student get hurt. Even if most of you didn't join, It's my job to protect you all when things go wrong."

"I appreciate it. That you weren't just looking after your own ass."

"No way," he said with a grin under his reflective shades. "You and I were a team in there, and we did pretty good."

"You know what? I won't argue. But I will try to do better next time."

"Good. Team building's an important exercise here at the school. Learning to work together's always been an important skill to learn--how to cover one another's backs. Even Wolverine had to learn *that* lesson. Even if he griped about it the whole damn time."

He led Greg out into the grand foyeur once more. While Morgan and Nat were nowhere to be found, there were children chatting as they descended the stairs. One boy was demonstrating something to his friend, his hair sticking up as a series of spikes pricked out from his skin, only to retract once he was done using them for emphasis.

His friend laughed, the lights flickering strangely as he passed, as if their electrical charge was siphoned off for the briefest of moments. 

Scott waved to them as he passed, before leading Greg towards an oak door to the left. 

"Through here."

Greg's gaze briefly followed the other two kids as they displayed their powers, but then he looked back where Scott directed, and nodded. 

"Got it. Thanks....again."

"No problem, Greg. I'm looking forward to teaching you. And for someone to talk cars with who doesn't pretend to fall asleep halfway through." He put his hand on the door. "Ready?"

Greg nodded, his shoulder's tense. 

"Ready."

As Scott pressed the door open, Greg stepped inside and looked around the impressive office.It was stately--with plush chairs sitting before a large oak desk. A large bay window, it's curtains open to give a stunning view of the fields and garden of the backyard, sat behind the Professor, who sat framed in the dimming light of day. 

A whiteboard with several diagrams was off to the side,it's concepts all seeming to stem around 'mutation' and 'genetics'-- likely left out after a lesson. A chessboard, one side holding metal pieces, the other white painted wood, sat frozen in a game in one corner, framed by walls of books that made up much of the wallspace, save for a mantled fireplace on the left wall. 

Scott waved gently inside. 

"Professor. Greg’s here."

"Come in Mr. Connelly," the Professor said warmly. "And have a seat."

Scott nodded and headed out of the room. 

Greg stepped past the threshold and through the stately office, admiring it a little. Like the rest of the mansion, it gave off a reserved and intelligent air that didn't exactly make Greg feel at home so much as it put him at ease. This, he felt, was the office of someone who knew what the hell they were doing.

"Thank you, uh, professor," he mumbled, sitting down in a plush chair near the professor.

"You are quite welcome."

"I hope you don't mind; I'd like to hear your thoughts on my School--aside from of course, the unfortunate accident in the Danger Room."

Greg shifted nervously in the chair, feeling a little like he'd been dragged in front of the principal... which wasn't *really* untrue. 

"My thoughts..." he said, as he tried to gather them. "I mean, it seems really... cool? Like everybody I met here seemed really happy to be here..."

"I'm pleased,” Xavier said. "We try to foster an atmosphere of comfort, trust, and security in these walls. It's a place for us to be ourselves...to learn. To understand. And I always hope that the atmosphere helps uplift the students in my care."

"Yeah, it has a uh, good vibe," he smiled slightly, "if you don't mind the term, sir."

I've heard the children say there's a 'good vibe' here at my Institute."  the old man said with a sly smile. "Some going as far as to call it 'groovy'."

"Yeah uh, I bet they have, sir..." Greg bit back a chuckle. 

“You can laugh. I won't mind." He tented his fingers on the desk. "What's important is you genuinely seem to like it here. And due to that, I would like to offer you the formal invitation to stay here with us at my school for gifted youngsters like yourself; to learn with us and work towards a peaceful future where we no longer need to hide away. Where we're all free to be ourselves...be it a shadowcaster, a telepath, or covered in fur."

Greg smiled a little-- he'd been kind of worried that after the mess earlier, the professor might have second thoughts about letting him stay here. 

"I really appreciate it, sir. I want to stay here... I'll admit... I'm worried about my sister though."

"Yes..." He said with a nod. "I understand your concerns."

"She's my twin, but, she's been so distant lately."

"I imagine that must be very distressing for you," the Professor said with sympathy. "Growing apart from someone you were close to is a pain many of our students understand all too well. But it's very possible your sister simply needs a little space. Some time to sort her own thoughts out. Perhaps one day you will find yourselves reaching a new understanding."

"I hope so," Greg said, closing his eyes for a moment. "She's kinda been all I had. Our mom... isn't exactly in the picture a lot. If I lost Morgan, I don't know what I'd do."

"Your mother is often absent from your life? yes...I think I understand, Mr. Connelly." he tapped his fingertips together. "Your sister, while she is distant now...I doubt you’ll truly lose her. It's a difficult time for the both of you, coming into your own with abilities you did not understand...and to do so without someone to turn to is especially difficult."

"It feels pretty difficult," he admitted. "I'm sure it's hard for her too. I just wish..... sorry I shouldn't be rambling about my sister."

"No, no it's very clear she's important to you. And I have the highest hopes that the two of you will find your common ground once you've both had the chance to grow." The Professor smiled over his tented hands. "Which brings me to something I noticed."

He looked up from staring at his hands, "Yes, sir?"

"Your sister...I was told that she had been feeling ill."

"Yes sir, she was having dizzy spells all day. Ms. Frost said it might be anemia, or something related..."

"And how about yourself? Have you been having similar feelings?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. 

"Yeah, a little bit, actually. while we were in the vehicle bay."

"Was it in the presence of blood?" He asked pointedly.

Greg's brow furrowed. 

"Blood? No I... wait, yeah it was.... actually. Bobby popped his stitch."

"Mm...and when your sister had episodes today?"

His brow furrowed further as he thought of it. 

"Well, she said she wasn't feeling well this morning.... but... when she fainted, that was when Jean cut her hand."

"mmm." The Professor looked deep in thought for a moment. "Yes, that seems to track with my theory. And...pardon the intrusion, but Scott told me over the telepathic link of what happened after we shut down the danger room. How you found her drinking that boy's blood."

Greg took a long breath at the thought, and grimaced. 

"Yeah, I don't know what the hell was up with that.":

"It's possible that all this is related." Xavier said, leaning on the table After all...she is suffering from anemia . Or was. She seemed healthy even around blood, during your little spat."

Greg turned that over in his mind.

"Like, she's like a vampire, or something?"

"In a manner of speaking....I think , and this is something I would like to confirm using the lab, that the both of you-- as twins and mutants-- require blood as a sort of 'energy source' to power your abilities. Your sister likely exerted herself quite badly without ever having refilled her reserves, thus leading to her condition."

"Damn. Uh, sorry, sir," he mumbled. "You think that's the case? You're going to run some kind of test or something?"

"I think it may be. And I'd like to take a blood sample or two...and have you safely consume some blood if you ever feel the urge to record it's effects."  The Professor leaned on his desk "But, why do you apologize, Mr. Connelly?"

"For cursing?" he hesitated.

"Ah." the Professor laughed. "Don’t do it in front of the young students, please. But I suppose we can forgive it here."

"I'll try to restrain myself, sir," he chuckled with a bit of good natured embarrassment.

"Good." The Professor nodded. "...But yes. I do think that's how both your mutations function, which means we will need a safe and consensual supply of blood for you if you're to begin training. t wouldn't do for you to faint all around the mansion. Not when there's plenty else you could be enjoying yourself with."

"Yeah, definitely. I'd like to avoid that," he agreed. He rubbed his neck thoughtfully. "You really think I need to drink blood? That's kinda... not great right?"

"The X-gene produces a great number of wonderful, unique mutations." The professor explained with a gentle smile. "Some require an exchange. Kinetic energy, for example--in the case of one of my beloved students who's gone off abroad on her own adventures, it requires the life force of others. With her gift, she could touch you and draw off enough of your very essence and use it to replicate your abilities perfectly. But it came with a cost. Too long of a touch, and she would render the host comatose. A bit more, and she could kill them outright. Simple skin contact was the trigger. But does that make her 'bad'? does that make her mutation any less wonderous?"

The Professor looked Greg in the eyes. "there's always a way to utilize your gift with control, caution, and respect. You may need to drink blood-- but it won't make anyone think any less of you here. It's simply another part of who you are. We will simply just have to draw the blood from an ethical source. Blood drives. Blood banks. The like."

"An ethical source... yeah," he nodded, a bit stunned by the immediate depth of Professor Xavier's understanding and compassion. He felt a slight lump grow in his throat. "Yeah.... thank you, professor..."

The Professor offered his hand. 

"You're very welcome...and thank *you* Greg. May I officially welcome you to my school?"

Greg took the professor's hand, and nodded. 

"Yeah, I uh, I'd like that. Thank you. I... feel really welcome."

"Then there's a home here for you in my academy. I'll have Scott arrange a room for you, and you can join us for dinner."

000

A long black limo pulled to a halt in front of a dark alley, and the door opened. A hand beckoned.

The figure in her grey sneaking suit-- blood drying on the gas mask-- finally slipped from the shadows and into the limo proper. She sat herself down, folding her hands on her lap with a nod "Prime mission was a failure, but there was partial success."

"Understood." A black-nailed hand reached from the shadow, and brushed its thumb against the gash in the gas mask. "A wound?"

"I encountered the Wolverine." they explained, blood coming away on the other figure's thumb. "He interrupted my download, but I was able to fight him off without more than a glancing blow. He was not able to track my movements, due to the diversion I left behind. No real damage. It may scar, however."

"How.... unfortunate." The figure wiped the blood between their two fingers, looking at it. "Hm."

"Very. He's a skilled combatant however, and a worthy soldier, however. It took all my skill simply to retreat" she almost seemed excited, there was a slight uplift in inflection in her otherwise deadpan voice. "May I take my mask off?" 

"Of course. It'll need to be replaced."

Unclasping her mask, the figure removed it from her face, taking a moment to shake out her hair.

Placing it by her side, she leveled piercing cool,  eyes at the figure across from her. Her neck length black hair fell, mussed , around her stern expression. 

"...I understand. It's unfortunate, I'll need another knife as well." Mukuro Isono--Callisto-- said quietly. " I had to leave it behind in my flight."