Intertwined Genes (Griselda Banks + Akira.S)

[Akira.S]

“You should hope he’s got a plan...that or he’s seriously pissed...” Tanya lifted her head from Mickey’s lap and hopped off the bed, slipping on some boots and walking out the door with her hands in her pockets, she knew this wasn’t going to end well either way. Mickey casually got up and fixed his long trench coat, following his girlfriend out along with his other two companions. Seems the others were all called out to the Square, or meeting place but what for? Did Magneto really have a plan already?

Once outside the younger students knew this wasn’t going to bode well as their teachers and some faces they didn’t recognize were up standing on the balconies and the higher platforms set up, all of them looking down on the mutants that had gathered. There were some familiar faces and some...not so familiar, Sabretooth, the Scarlet Witch, Lady Deathstrike, Toad and Callisto were among some of the faces of familiars and unfamiliar gathered on Genosha that night...all waiting to hear what Magneto’s master plan was.

“You know if he brought them in this can only mean bad for us...” Tanya stuck close to Mickey who was just eyeing all their guests, but at the same time, he wondered where Magneto was and what he had in mind when attacking Xavier’s school.

--------

That night it was Oliver’s turn to have his private hourly probing session with the Profession, in a non-dirty way. They had only been in class a couple of days but like any good student Anna was hard at work. When she wasn’t in the piano room or in her own room studying she was in the library in one of the study corners all by her lonesome – figures.

She was working on Physics which she detested with a passion, the sooner she was done with that she moved on to the more complicated homework, stuff that dealt with theory, philosophy and the ideas behind quantum physics, all that stuff you’re not allowed to teach in real schools. While working on her paper she amused herself by twirling her hair with her finger and unconsciously making the books she’d pull off the shelves float a couple of feet in the air and twirl then flip pages. With the semester resuming she tried to keep her mind off her powers cutting off when she was with Oliver. She tried to avoid him....as little as possible but it bothered her that when she wasn’t talking with him, or sitting with him in complete silence it felt weird, like something was always missing.

Of course she ignored it as any attachment would just make it worse on both of them. Heaving a heavy sigh she put her head down on the table, with her forehead resting on the hard wood, at the exact same time the books fell back to their original spots on her section of the table like they had never even moved.

If they’d been at this for so long why wasn’t it working, why was nothing they were doing working...why did it have to be them? Could things have just stayed the way they were? After finishing her theory paper she decided to call it a night and head to Professor Frost’s office which was close to Professor Xavier’s, to see if she could have a counselling session with her. Because nowadays she was always worried about being too close to Oliver or thinking about her powers, life seemed to be more complicated and it bothered her immensely.

“Hey Roads! Now that you can’t be near Oliver I guess that means it’s fair game after all you two have been spending less and less time together.” And of course Jill was always there to just ruin the mood.
“Good luck trying to get near him, he’s been with the Professor a lot lately which is why I haven’t seen him, and we’re not going out we’re just really good friends that’s all, bet that’s something you wouldn’t understand since you slept with all the guys you’ve ever been with.” Floating by her in the library Anna flew her books back to where they were on the shelves, flying up to the ones she couldn’t reach by hand, and then quickly flying off to the head office.  

[Griselda Banks]

((Do you mind if we just kinda skim over the planning part and have the attack happen tonight? sweatdrop I can't think of much else that could happen.... If we need to discuss what specifically the Magneto Mutants are going to do, we can go ahead and do that.))

"And so we will all move out as one," Magneto finished softly, gazing over the upturned faces of his students and minions. "We will hold nothing back, and this time...there will be no mistakes." A hush fell over the already-quiet crowd, a hush of fear as they all contemplated what he would do with them if anyone screwed up.

Finally Magneto cut through the tense silence with a curt nod. "Now, break into your groups and prepare to move out."

----------

"All right, Oliver, that's enough for tonight."

Oliver opened his eyes in relief, tired of trying to keep his thoughts centered on the task at hand. Xavier was setting the headpiece back on its stand, and Oliver got up from the chair they'd brought in for these sessions, stretching tired muscles gratefully.

"Did you find anything, sir?"

The Professor began to wheel himself towards the door. "I've noticed some similarities between your brainwaves and Anna's," he replied as Oliver fell into step beside him. "I will have to analyze them further before I can figure out what that means."

Oliver nodded glumly as they stepped out into the smooth-walled corridor and heard the door slide closed behind them and lock automatically. Once the elevator doors hissed closed behind them and they began to move upwards, Xavier spoke up again.

"If you see Anna, tell her that tomorrow I want you both to come. I think we might make more progress if I can assess the way your minds work together."

"Okay." Oliver didn't look at the Professor, though he knew a faint blush was creeping up his neck. The Professor knew the way he felt, and he could probably guess how his heart was racing at the thought of being with her again. Even just sitting with her in the Cerebro room, not moving or speaking.

They stepped out on the ground floor, and Xavier briefly touched Oliver's arm as he passed him on the way to his office. Oliver looked down, and saw Xavier smiling kindly at him. "Good night." Then he was gone, rolling up the hallway.

With a sigh, Oliver turned in the other direction and headed for the stairs. He hoped they could find a solution soon. Maybe once they did, he would tell her. Tell her the way she made his heart race whenever she looked at him. And maybe she'd say the same.... Or maybe she'd say she wanted to be just friends, he reminded himself glumly.  

[Akira.S]

“Miss Roads. What a surprise to see you....so late.” Emma Frost opened the door to her office and allowed the dark haired girl inside. “I was just grading some papers when I sensed you coming,” the blonde woman sat behind her large desk and offered the seat across from her to Anna. It was getting dark and she figured the girl could do some more homework, shower, have dinner, or even sleep early, but the staff had been informed that Anna and Oliver were taking lessons with Professor Xavier and were getting some extra counselling, so why was Anna here?

“I...I wanted to talk to someone other than the Professor about something inside me that’s changed.” It was a little vague but at least she was trying. Emma knew the change was probably the change in her powers being shut down when Oliver was anywhere near her but what about that was different than what the Professor was trying to do with them or teach them. “I used to be calm and collected and...fine with being alone, but ever since Oliver arrived and the Professor asked me to befriend him I feel...like I’m not myself.” She got up and started pacing around the room like she was a wreck, all confused and flustered like. “Things haven’t been right lately, I feel like I can’t control my actions or even what comes out of my mouth half the time. I feel light headed, cold, weak, frustrated and angry all the time and I don’t know why.” She slumped back down in her chair and let her head hang low for a second, allowing her bangs to cover her eyes, “I’ve never felt so unsure about who I was until now...”

Emma sat at her desk and thought for a moment, walking around toward the girl and placing a hand on her back. “I think this is something you have to figure out as a human. The Professor nor I can help you with this, you have to figure it out on your own, it’s a part of being human and growing up. All I can tell you is not to bottle your feelings up; only you can resolve this...talking to others about your feelings isn’t something you need to be ashamed of. Just because people have this persona of you doesn’t mean you need to follow it. You need to be your own person and if that person is being a flustered, confused young lady who has feelings for the new transfer student then maybe that’s who you were meant to be.” Stepping away she walked from her desk and sat back on her end while Anna looked up at her with a rather confused – not to mention flustered red face. “I don’t have feelings for Oliver, we’re just friends, and after all he probably hates me for the things I’ve said to him....” she muttered that last part and stood up grabbing her bag from the edge of the seat, “Thanks for listening Professor Frost.” Anna smiled when she got up and left the room in deep thought.

After a hot shower and a change into her pjs she couldn’t help wonder if all those mixed emotions she was feeling was because she enjoyed Oliver’s company, she got used to him being there, and just over all liked the fact that someone didn’t think she was a freak or a loner.

All seemed well for the time being. The night was quiet and calm and the moon was shining brightly. It was just another typical day. But on the outskirts Magneto and his army of mutants from Genosha were heading towards Xavier’s school, for a sneak attack that even Xavier himself wasn’t suspecting.
They came like lightning through the forest and attacked the school from the outside. Raging the buildings and breaking things down. Even the exterior security wasn’t enough to stop them. Soon the alarm was set off and the students were rushed down to the basement to prepare for battle. Not only were the students outnumbered, but the mutants Magneto brought along with him were a lot stronger than the students combined, it was almost like three to one in some cases.

Even Anna and the others who were fighting in mid-air were doing more running than fighting. Not to mention she had to take care that she didn’t get anywhere near Oliver otherwise she’d just be a sitting duck. For now she and some others were being attacked by a psychic who was trying to cut them off by throwing dark balls of energy towards them. Some of them were hit and some of them, like Anna tried to counter it back or throw the psychic off the roof.  

[Griselda Banks]

When Oliver woke with alarms ringing all around him, he was sure at first that it was a nightmare. One of those recurring nightmares that wouldn't leave you alone, like the dreams where you were falling or where you saw Anna in danger but you couldn't help her because all of a sudden your powers wouldn't work. But this was real, and Oliver joined the stream of frantic students, wondering why they were being attacked again, and so soon after the first time.

They all realized fairly quickly that this attack was very different from the previous one, however. The school was soon overrun by the enemy mutants; they plowed through the ranks of the students and teachers without care, till people were fighting in little pockets throughout the halls and the grounds with no coordination.

Oliver raced through the hallways of the school, making the wooden panels on the walls sprout with sudden thorns or vines as he passed more and more black-clad invaders. As he ran and ducked around the skirmishes, his eyes frantically swept across every face, searching.

Finally he found his way outside, and just like last time, the whole yard was a teeming mass of people fighting. Oliver was sure some of the black-clad people were adults, though last time they'd all seemed to be teenagers like him. He thought he caught sight of a familiar wheelchair, but there were too many people in the way, and he had to throw himself to the ground as a fireball the size of his fist roared over him. But still, he ran and searched desperately.

Then at last he found her, hovering alongside Gerald near a corner of the roof and fighting someone who looked like they were throwing pieces of the night sky through the air. Oliver started to run towards them, but then he came up short as he remembered what would happen if he got much closer. Frustrated, he stomped his foot and made a tree erupt right under a small cluster of black mutants.

But right as he was beginning to get desperate, right as he was on the verge of running to get someone because he couldn't stand the thought of Anna getting hurt while he stood by helpless...everything stopped. As if they'd all received some kind of signal, the enemy mutants ceased fighting immediately and began to retreat. Some flew or ran, while others zipped through portals and dragged others with them. And within minutes, the fighting was over as swiftly as it had begun.

((You don't mind if it's over this fast, right? 'Cause we just did a scene like this, and we can put a lot more detail into the rescue mission.))  

[Akira.S]

((Yeah it’s all good, I was gonna be Magneto and break into the school and steal it but if you wanted to just go over that that’s good too as long as it gets done LOL))

While Anna was trying to throw off the psychic’s flying and vision by trying to control the wind around her as she noticed Oliver from the corner of her eye. He created a tree underneath a couple of mutants not too far away, but far away enough that their powers weren’t going to shut down. Just as she took her eye off the psychic across from her to catch a glimpse of Oliver, she was attacked by two seeker shadow balls of darkness. Gerald warned her at the last second and she was able to defend them, at the last second, but she was still knocked onto the edge of the roof, sliding down and trying not to fall off. Sitting on the edge she shook her head to recompose herself flying back into the air, creating a thick twister in the sky to hold the psychic in one spot.

It took all her concentration to keep the psychic at bay but she couldn’t help be distracted with the fact she couldn’t help Oliver on the ground. He seemed to be overwhelmed with some Earth like, poison, laser like....etc, mutants that she couldn’t even count. While she held both hands out in front of her as streams of wind came from them she noticed a wave slowly surround Oliver and another mutant helping him. Eyeing that wave of mutants, Anna kicked and flipped around from where she was creating streams of wind that burst out of her feet like blades and flew towards the group of mutants throwing them away against a tree.

While Anna was trying to keep the psychic contained, she was attacked from behind by another mutant that shot small firecracker at her back which threw her off concentration, causing her to fall and hit the roof again. As the suited mutant walked towards her, he picking her up by her hair he created some more sparkling firecrackers that looked like crystals in his hand. Just as he was about to shove them into her stomach he stopped, released her, stood up and looked down to the others dressed like him who were beginning to retreat. “You’re lucky this time...” the boy muttered and threw the firecrackers at the ground and created a large flash that helped him disappear.

Gerald helped Anna up and helped fly her down back to the ground where some other mutants were, helping them up and checking to see if any were injured. What happened....they hadn’t been fighting as long as last time...this battle only lasted a few short hours. Everyone was sort of at a loss and talking amongst themselves, trying to figure out if they won or not...then Valon came out of the school, huffing and puffing after running so fast from God knows where. “I’S GONE! The Cerebro! I’S GONE!” he exclaimed to whoever was outside, everyone sort of gasping and freaking out because they knew what that meant.

Anna hovered close to Oliver and his group and decided to run the rest of the way. If the Cerebro was gone they could never really figure out what was going on with their powers, “Oliver, the Professor.”  

[Griselda Banks]

((So, what do we know about Magneto's place? You know more about X-Men than I do, so maybe you'd be better at coming up with what their plan for getting the Cerebro back should be.))

Oliver looked around in confusion as the attackers retreated, then somewhat shakily caused his large plants to decompose and become dirt again. He had a cut over his eye, he noticed, and blood was oozing down over his eyebrow. Brushing it away, he listened to those students who weren't hurt and limping back inside to the infirmary, wondering aloud what had just happened.

His heart lightened when he saw Anna hovering towards him, and when her feet touched the ground he hurried to meet her. Gerald hovered upside-down over their heads, humming "Let's Go Fly A Kite" as though they hadn't just been fighting for their lives. "You okay?" Oliver asked breathlessly, trying to ignore him.

But before she could answer, Valon came out shouting that the Cerebro was gone. Oliver could only gape at him as a shocked silence descended on everyone within earshot. The Cerebro had always seemed so permanent, a rock-solid source of comfort, a reassurance that someday they would figure out what was going on with their powers.

Then the silence was broken as everyone started talking in loud, worried voices about what the enemy would be able to do if they had the Cerebro. Some of the younger students asked their friends what the Cerebro was. A girl somewhere was screaming. But Oliver and Anna began rushing through the crowd as though on some silent agreement, until they found Xavier, zooming forward faster than usual on his wheelchair, and students quickly stepping aside as he passed. There was a tense look of resignation on his face as he hurried up the ramp to the front door. Oliver hurried after him, unwilling to believe that their only hope of recovery was gone.  

[Akira.S]

((Yeah sure I’ll work with them getting ready to go and all that non-sense smile I’ll get them there and all that))

“I’ve been better.” Anna responded to Oliver while Gerald touched down not too far away from her. I guess he was just never fazed...by anything, or his singing casually was his way of being calm. Everyone was sort of getting to grips with what just happened, some even heading inside to be treated. But it wasn’t long until Valon ran out of the school screaming that the Cerebro had been stolen.

There was just no way that was possible, that thing was fully protected and there’s no way Magneto could have gotten past the Professor. With Cerebro gone, not only were Anna and Oliver affected but all the humans in the world – because we all knew what Magneto wanted to do with it. Now wasn’t the time to be selfish, although getting the Cerebro back so the Professor could find out what was cutting off their powers was important, there were other pressing matters.

While everyone was sort of in panic Oliver and Anna quietly snuck away and ran back into the school to see if there was something they could do to help. Dodging and weaving through students they found the Professor zooming faster than usual through the front of the school, probably to his office or to check security on how Magneto actually got in. The more the Professor worried the more it made the other students worry, and if he was worried about the Cerebro being stolen what were the chances that Anna and Oliver would be able to fix their problem.

It seemed many of the older students and teachers were gathered downstairs in the training room while the Professor was explaining the situation. They’d have to leave immediately for Genosha Island to retrieve what was rightfully theirs. “Professor!” Anna ran into the training room uninvited and almost out of breath for a second, “you have to let Oliver and I go with you.” A lot of the other teachers began protesting to letting too many younger students go but this was important to both of them. “Miss Roads this isn’t like training, this is a real mission. Both of you could get seriously hurt.” Emma Frost explained while crossing her arms in front of her chest looking to the Professor.

He knew what the Cerebro meant to the both of them and if they were serious about fixing their powers then they should have a say in what was going on. “I understand your concern Anna but realize you will have to take care of yourselves.” The Professor said seriously and strictly to the both of them before turning to the others. Half of the faculty was staying to watch over the students and the other half was going along to Genosha. Some of the other students that were called to the mission were Jillan, Zeek and Eve of the Elementals, and a couple other students that Oliver and Anna didn’t know. Their numbers weren’t too great but a lot of the teachers were going to be a big asset with this one, not to mention the Professor would be on the ship directing them when he could. “Oliver you’ll be going with Emma Frost and Anna you’ll be tagging along with Storm.” Once the X-Jet was ready the twelve that went along for the mission all moved out.

It was both Anna and Oliver’s first time in the X-Jet so it was a little nerve wrecking but they had to focus. It seemed...so much bigger on the outside than on the inside but then again it wasn’t meant to carry so many passengers comfortably. While boarding Storm put a hand on Anna’s shoulder to give her some advice if you wanted to call it that, “Keep your eyes open and down Zephyr, I don’t want you falling behind.” She tried to be comforting about the situation before boarding and taking her place at one of the controls. Nodding to her superior Anna and Oliver took seats near the back and waited until they were ready to launch. Neither really said a word to one another for the longest time...at least until Anna broke the silence, “Zephyr is my code name. You’re going to need one too, but try not to come up with anything too girly.” She tried cracking a joke even though it wasn’t the time. Pulling her long black hair behind her ears she looked over at Oliver with her empty white eyes and tried being serious for a second, “Don’t do anything stupid like try to get the Cerebro back yourself. Magneto is dangerous...let the adults handle him while we handle the rest.” She explained before turning forward as the jet was taking off.  

[Griselda Banks]

Oliver followed everyone's lead, not wanting to mess up his chance to help out even though he was just a beginner with a major block. He couldn't stand the thought of just sitting around at school while his only chance at overcoming his power problem was in enemies' hands. Besides, even if he couldn't fight alongside Anna, he wanted to be somewhat close by if she was putting herself in so much danger. Who knew what was waiting for them at this Genosha place....

So Oliver filed into the X-Jet, which he had never even seen before, and squeezed into a seat at the back. He was pleased when Anna sat down next to him, because Zeek had caught his eye when he came in and given him a scathing, scornful look. The Elementals didn't know about Anna and Oliver's need for Cerebro, of course, so they must be wondering why the misfits were allowed to come along too.

He tried not to feel too jittery while they waited for Storm and the adults up front to make the proper adjustments and preparations. The sheer magnitude of what they were doing was slowly beginning to dawn on him. It had been bad enough when Magneto's forces had attacked the school those two times, but this.... He was probably going into more danger than he'd ever experienced before, and because it wasn't jumping out at him suddenly and he knew it was coming, it seemed more frightening.

So he was grateful when Anna tried to lighten the mood a little. "Yeah, maybe you should call me Stump," he said, trying to crack a smile, "because our problem sure has me stumped." But their feeble jokes were too thin to cover their anxiety, as the doors of the hangar slid open above them.

"You too," he murmured, though he wasn't sure she could hear his voice over the roar of the engines. "Be careful."

Then they were in the air, soon leaving the school far behind. Oliver had been on a plane one time, to visit his grandparents in Texas. The X-Jet seemed to be going much faster, and shook much more as well. He supposed that was just because it was a smaller plane, but it didn't help the butterflies in his stomach much. He waited for them to reach their destination, unconsciously flexing his fingers even though he was much too close to Anna for his powers to work.  

[Akira.S]

Anna wasn’t really in the mood for jokes even though a little laugh would help lighten up the situation, but going on a mission was serious. Not too many mutants around their age were assigned to such things – even as serious as to go up against Magneto. She hoped Oliver would take this as serious as she did because she didn’t need to worry about someone other than herself...not that she had to worry about him but if they just so happened to get close to each other their powers would blow and they’d be sitting ducks. The last thing the dark haired girl wanted to was to be a burden to the family that had so easily accepted her and trained her to use her powers properly; she would always be loyal to the Professor and her mentor, Storm even if she decided to leave the school when she was a bit older.

Soon enough they were in the air, the engines roaring, buttons clicking and all that fun stuff. The jet was on stealth mode but you couldn’t really tell from the outside. The ship blasted off to god knows where this Genosha Island was and everyone, at least everyone around Anna’s age seemed a little tense. The elementals were worried but they had each other, Anna and Storm were going to have to stick together while Oliver and Emma Frost headed inside. Their numbers weren’t as great so there would be a lot of issues but the Professor wouldn’t be sending them in if there was going to be that much of a risk.
While Storm was sitting at one of the control desks she called Anna and some of the others over to go over their battle strategy.

Meanwhile, Emma and the others decided to call over their small teams to go over what the plan was and to say a few words of encouragement. It didn’t take them long...maybe around half an hour to 45 minutes to just get anywhere near the Genosha boarder. The entire island was cover by the sea and the island stood alone...like literally there was nothing else for miles and the only way to get there was by boat or by plane.

The Professor stopped a couple of miles away from the island and left the jet to float high above the waters while opening the doors, “Good Luck to all of you, I’ll be keeping in touch from here and will assist you any way I can.” The Professor said while waiting for Storm and some of the others to leave first as they were the exterior distraction to divert their attention. Storm was the first to leave, then one by one the others got out until it was Anna’s turn. She unbuckled her seat belt and flipped her long black hair behind her shoulder. She looked so calm and collected but on the inside she was really very nervous and was afraid she’d get in other people’s ways. Walking towards the edge of the jet she paused and looked over the edge, which was nothing but a straight free fall a couple hundred feet into water. The reason she couldn’t fly out was because Oliver was so close by and her powers were dead at the moment. Basically she had to jump until she reached the minimum distance they could be away from each other and then would touch off and fly with the others...but for now...falling to your death wasn’t exactly a pleasant thought.

Anna stood at the doorway looking down at the sea and took a couple of deep breaths before she had to jump. Of course she was nervous but she couldn’t let fear stop her now...  

[Griselda Banks]

((*catches breath* OMG, this feels like I'm about to kiss someone myself xd ))

As they drew closer and closer to their destination, Oliver's fear rose higher and higher. Their preparations only served to increase his fears, rather than alleviate them. They were breaking off into pairs, some of whom would create a diversion that would hopefully allow the others to slip into Genosha and rescue the Cerebro before they were all killed. But everyone knew about Magneto and his minions, about their cruelty. These were people who would not hesitate to slaughter them all.

And the more Oliver thought about it, the more he realized how much danger the ones creating the diversion would be in. The ones sneaking in would hopefully escape harm at least at first, but those who stayed outside would bear the full brunt of Genosha's counter-attack. Anna would be on the front lines.

Desperation quickly filled Oliver's stomach as the X-Jet slowed down and finally hovered in midair. The moments when he could be with Anna, when he could be sure she was safe, were swiftly slipping away. Then the door opened and several of the others dropped out of the plane, heading for the island. They could all fly or hover in some way, something they'd made sure of ahead of time because they would have so far to fall. Suddenly Oliver realized that he was too close to Anna, that their powers weren't working. He briefly considered moving to the end of the plane, but then he realized it was too small for him to get far enough away. She would just have to jump and hope that her powers would kick in before she hit the water with enough force to kill her.

So, knowing it wouldn't make much difference, Oliver stepped up to her side. The others weren't paying much attention, seeing to their own last-minute preparations, and Frost had gone up front for one last consultation with the Professor, who would be overseeing the operation and linking them all with psychic communication.

"Anna," he said, intending to give her one last meaningless demand to be careful, or to smile encouragingly and say, See you soon, or maybe even thank her for being the first friend he'd had in the school. But when she turned her head to look at him, when a lock of her shiny dark hair slipped from behind her ear and swung forward, when her pale eyes met his questioningly...he couldn't help it. Everything that had been burning inside of him for the past several days, every moment he had spent missing or enjoying her company, seemed to bubble up inside him. The roots that had taken hold long ago pushed it up, and the sudden fear that he would never see her again made it burst through the surface, where it saw the light of day and blossomed at last.

Whenever he'd dreamily imagined it before, he'd always pictured it happening like in the movies - slow, smooth, cool, with a feeling of triumph seeping over his whole body. But now that the time came, Oliver grabbed Anna somewhat desperately by the shoulders and kissed her. Their noses crashed into each other, and his lips only briefly brushed against one side of hers, but when he drew back their eyes met and they understood. Then Anna was gone.

Oliver clung to the side of the rail, watching Anna fall and not caring in the slightest whether anyone had seen what had just happened. He followed her with his eyes, silently begging her powers to return, but thankfully she began to hover several feet above the water. Oliver breathed a sigh of relief and watched as half of his heart seemed to fly away with Anna.  

[Akira.S]

((I know what you mean I had to make it a really emotional moment too...>//////<))

As Anna was standing by the opening on the jet looking out to the dark and cold ocean then she felt a presence walk and stand beside her. At first she thought it was Storm, to comfort her in a way and tell her she’d be able to make the drop. But when she heard a familiar voice call her name she almost felt her heart skip half a beat.

It was Oliver and something in her gut was worrying about him. She knew that being away from him was the best thing right now but Oliver wasn’t as experienced as many of them in combat...especially against Magneto’s army of mutants on his turf. She was sure he could handle himself but at the same time there was...something telling her that something might go wrong or something would happen to one of them. But again, she had to be slightly positive...if anything, and try not to worry about him. But for some reason, despite their powers not working when they were near each other she didn’t want to think about being away from him...Her heart was beating insanely quickly and she didn’t know what it meant or how to control it. She’d felt this strange uneasy feeling before but what did it really mean? It seemed her brain was racing, back and forth about worrying him, but at the same time knowing things would be alright, maybe.

She turned her gaze to face him, deciding to give him one last piece of advice or at least remind him not to do anything stupid. Her empty gazed locked with his for a second, looking deeply in his eyes before speaking, “Oliver I-“ but in that split second just before she could say anything else he grabbed her by the shoulders and kissed her.

It happened so fast that she couldn’t really process what was going on; her brain just stopped working. It wasn’t the most romantic thing, and it was DEFINITELY not how she’d picture her first kiss...but it meant something....
One thing was for sure, it was so unexpected that she definitely forgot to close her eyes and really kiss him back. When the two broke apart and stood a few feet away from each other, something in the way he was looking at her reassured her that things would be okay. Without really saying anything they just knew...

Stepping sideways while he still had a bit of a hold on her, her back faced the outside while their eyes were still locked. Anna then smiled slightly and reassuringly before taking one step back, then another, then as she stood at the very edge of the jet, barely being able to hold herself up she fell back. The last thing she saw was Oliver’s figure fading into the darkness as she started falling head first towards the sea below her.

She closed her eyes as she kept falling, faster and faster towards the water, knowing in the back of her mind that she’d be alright. And just before she was a couple feet from crashing into the waves below an air current seemed to catch her which caused her to hover a couple several feet from the air. The water below her parted causing a large wave to erupt under her as she jetted back up into the sky to rejoin the others. As she was flying far off to catch up she could just barely see the X-Jet in the distance, but she knew looking back at the empty space that Oliver was watching her. Suddenly the Storm approached her motioning her to follow to the island as to cause a distraction. As planned Anna turned and flew off with her and took her place with the others.

A part of her just knew everything would alright and that Oliver would be safe. She knew the Professor or any of the others wouldn’t let anything bad happen to him.

So far from the island everyone took a certain position off the radar but still surrounding it waiting for the signal.

Suddenly the clouds began to darken, as if there was a big storm coming, and lightning began clashing in that dark sky. Different mutants on that mission started creating ‘natural’ disasters to at least slow down the army and distract them enough for the others to get in. They created tsunamis, typhoons, twisters, whirlpools, heavy wind, rain, combined with cold air....everything they could think of, trying to draw attention to themselves, enough to draw the other mutants out.

“That’s the signal, now go.” Xavier could see the island from far off and saw the thunder and lightning clash. Even those on the ship could see the twisters and typhoons of water and air creating a dome around the island. It wasn’t Xavier’s intention to destroy their home but at least enough to get their attention. Of course Magneto would have the best protection around Cerebro but that didn’t meant they didn’t have a chance.

Emma and another Professor lead the others out of the X-Jet, using Jet Ski’s to make their way to the island. Everyone paired off on the vehicle before it was dropped out of the jet into the sea below. Reluctantly Oliver was paired off with Jill and was forced to sit behind her and hold on.
“Hey, you better not slow me down, we don’t have much time to get in and get out of there, and the longer we take the longer your girlfriend and the others are gonna have to fight that entire army off.” Of course Jill was being snarky about it but they had a mission to focus on. She had her own problems to deal with and she didn’t need to sit around and babysit Oliver. As soon as they were ready the jet was lowered as several Jet Ski’s dropped from the bottom and sped off toward the island.  

[Griselda Banks]

((Heheh, I think we did a pretty good job though! xd We'll let 'em have a more romantic smooch later.... Oh, and I couldn't tell if you were thinking this too, but the way we ended up writing it, it was sort of like Oliver already found out how to use Anna's power like we were talking about, only he hasn't quite realized it yet. Of course they were still kind of dazed at first, and the switchover between who was blowing Anna along was so quick they wouldn't notice, and it probably doesn't make much difference anyway, but whatever razz

Um, what was Jill's power again? sweatdrop And...how big is the Cerebro, really? I mean, is it something you could tuck under your arm and carry it with you, or are they going to have to use their powers to carry it or something? I've never been real clear on that....))

Curiously, Oliver found himself immune to any jibes or comments sent his way, even oblivious to them. Something very important had shifted inside him, he felt, and he wasn't sure what, but it made him feel strong and completely sure of himself for the first time since those infernal flowers had sprung up around him so long ago. He'd seen Anna's smile, and it made him feel safe. They would both make it out of here alive; they would have to. And then...well, that was a thought to save for later.

Soon, the team on jet-skis pulled up to a part of the island that met the water in a cliff that was almost sheer. Hardly even aware of Jill in front of him, Oliver reached out a hand to the earth and stone, and grew a large, twisting root out the side of the cliff, which climbed all the way up like a natural ladder. Oliver was pleased to see that, even though rain from the storm on the other side of the island lashed down at them, he was far enough away from the eye of it that his (and Anna's) powers were working fine.

Once they had climbed to the top of the cliff, the group slunk carefully through the cover of boulders and bushes on the edge of the island. Most likely, everyone in Genosha would be rushing to the storm on the other side, but you couldn't be too careful.

Finally they came to what seemed to be a small back entrance, a metal door built into the side of the hill and covered with the clever disguise of a fake bush. It didn't fool Oliver, though; he could feel the living earth end in the fake material. They circled around the door, and a boy whose name Oliver didn't know pointed a finger at the lock. A small flame, so hot it was blue, burst from his fingertip and quickly melted the lock so they could open the door. After quickly checking there was no one around, they hurried inside.  

[Akira.S]

((I think I get what you mean but I’m not really sure...like I don’t wanna mess it up. How did Oliver like...figure out how to use her powers unconsciously? Cause I’m still trying to figure out how Anna’s going to use his powers

Jill’s just an exceptionally good hand to hand fighter, like she can adopt different fighting styles in battle. Nothing too special, and Cerebro is like....the size of a table...like the metal thing plus the helmet, so if anything we’ll just say someone who went with Oliver’s group is a teleporter and can teleport it back to the jet. ))

“This is obviously a diversion, how thick could you get!?” Tanya was lighting rocks and large boulders on fire while other mutants were using them as bombs and throwing them at the other mutants flying up in the sky. The strength of the wind and the storm changed everything since Tanya’s flames didn’t last very long. The blonde girl had no idea what Magneto was doing or why this was taking so long...obviously Xavier’s mutants were here to take back the Cerebro, so why wasn’t their leader putting up a real fight...?

On top of one of the towers, Anna was having a standoff with Mickey. He created his wind tunnel in order to suck her in while she on the other hand created a twister to combat and neutralize it. Of course the battle was a stalemate since their powers neutralized each other. She had no lead on him at all and no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t build up anymore air pressure without potentially getting hit first. Hopefully Oliver and the others would get in and get out as quickly as they could.

Emma Frost and another teacher mutant lead the team through Genosha’s tunnels, hallways and structures to where ever Magneto was keeping Cerebro. It seems he had already built a dome like structure; all that was left was to take back the actual machine and teleport out. Luckily the Professor did think about bringing a teleporter, the only problem with all teleportation was that you had to see where you were going....blindly teleporting might possibly get you killed and that’s something the Professor didn’t want to risk. Getting inside seemed fairly easy now getting to the underground dome was the tricky part. There was a bunch of security all lined up with trip wires, lasers, and of course there would be guards and other mutants towards the end. If Magneto didn’t show himself sooner or later then that mission would have been too easy. For now, Frost let the younger generation handle all the security.

One mutant took out the security cameras while Jill performed a routine of acrobatic proportion to get them past the laser security grid, then there was more taking out cameras and security...and then there was a large steel door. Now they didn’t know what was behind the steel door but the Professor communicated to them that Cerebro should be housed somewhere inside. They could either break their way in and hope it was Cerebro, or they’d be falling into a trap. But they didn’t really have the time to debate on that. The boy from earlier, the one who broke the lock on the hidden door stepped forward, “I’ll go first then.” he said while cracking his knuckles before putting both hands on the door. It began to heat up slowly as the metal began to melt. He slowly moved his hands into a circular pattern to create a circular doorway in the steel door. It took a bit of time since it was a lot of metal to melt but once he was done he kicked the door down triumphantly and looked inside.

To their dismay there was a small array of older mutant students and Magneto waiting for them in a large training simulation like room, except with more pointy things.
“Was the Professor to cowardice to come with you Emma or is this really the best you’ve got?” Magento floated up in the air above his students who seemed more experienced and much more powerful than Xavier’s....they were at least nineteen to early mid twenties.
“It just goes to show that all you think you need is brute force in order to beat us...however that is not always the case.” On her command her team charged up Magneto’s team in a head to head battle in a room where both parties were equally likely to get hurt.  

[Griselda Banks]

(( sweatdrop Oh, sorry. I was just remembering how we were saying that the next time Anna and Oliver get too close for them to access their own powers, after they'd kissed, they would discover that they can control each other's powers instead. It doesn't really matter either way, since Anna flew away whether by her own power or not, but it sort of seemed that we wrote it like you could interpret it to mean that Oliver was using her power to make her hover before she could. I mean, he was watching her and sort of willing her to hover before she hit the water, so maybe he was unconsciously accessing her power. The kiss - the acknowledgment that they like each other - is what enables them to do that, so it would kind of fit. It really doesn't matter, though.

So, once they get the Cerebro and teleport it to the jet, are they just going to teleport there too, or are they going to go help out the diversion-creators? I'm hoping to lay the groundwork for the next story arc while they're here, where Oliver and Anna discover why they're linked like this. Not sure how I'm going to do that quite yet, but just don't make them leave Genosha completely before I do, okay? They can find Cerebro, though.))

As they entered the underground base, Oliver felt his stomach sinking. This was a metal fortress, without even any houseplants to soften the cold, harsh walls. So different from the school. There were so few materials he could use in here, and now he wondered what he'd thought he could do to help. He would just be a liability. How could a power like growing flowers help in such a situation?

But even though he felt increasingly helpless, especially as the others showed how skilled they were and how necessary to the group, Oliver drew on his power as much as he could. He built it up, calling to the earth surrounding the metal and concrete. He felt weak, having to work through such an impenetrable barrier, but he concentrated on it as much as he could while still following the others.

When the door burst open and they began to fight Magneto and his students, Oliver could only fight with his hands, desperately pulling harder and harder on his power even though he knew it would do no good. The woman he was fighting, whose fingers shot out like iron-tipped whips, was laughing at him as she kept beating him back. Her fingers moved so swiftly and strangely that Oliver could hardly block any of them, and her nails sliced thin ribbons of pain all over his body.

Then the woman's fingers wrapped several times around his neck and squeezed. Choking, Oliver crashed to his knees and pulled desperately at her unyielding fingers. He wanted to cry out for help, but the others were all fighting too hard to even notice him kneeling in the corner. Dying. He rolled his eyes up to the woman, who was laughing again, squeezing harder and harder, and the edges of his vision blurred and darkened. She would be the last thing he ever saw.... He would never see Anna again....

Then a loud CRACK! split the air, and the woman looked up in surprise. Shoots of a dozen different kinds of plants were growing down from the ceiling, splitting the concrete like weeds in a sidewalk. Oliver, who let up on his power for a moment in sheer surprise, used the last of his strength to urge the plant directly above his head downward. The woman shrieked as an enormous thorny vine zoomed down at her, and she leapt backward, releasing him.

Oliver fell to his hands and knees, coughing and gasping for breath even as he forced the woman back farther and farther, chasing her down with his vine. She ran backward, trying to slice it away with her fingers, but she wasn't looking where she was going, so she tripped and fell with a sickening crunch on one of the spikes. Even as she fell still, Oliver got shakily to his feet. Now he had enough material. Now he could fight.  

[Akira.S]

((Yeah I remember us saying that when they got to close they could access each other’s powers. OH okay I get what you mean now! Yeah it’s up to interpretation but I never really thought of it that way, that’s actually pretty cool : ) so yeah that could work. For the time being though Anna won’t be able to access his powers because she’s outside and he’s inside so we’ll have to work on that a little later.

They’ll teleport Cerebro and then the teleporty guy can teleport the ones that can’t fly back like one or two at a time, so that leaves the Elementals, Storm and everyone else who’s outside to fight until everyone is safely away, before they can leave, does that make sense? Also for the next arc....is it gonna be like right after...should there be a little time skip where they’re like seniors now or something? Is their relationship going to develop? I know it’s a lot to think about so no rush, I can drag this out slowly but not make it too boring XD))

As the fighting continued outside, it raged on, on the inside. It didn’t really look it like it was going anywhere and dawn was quickly approaching them. Well, it’s not like time mattered but you had to consider that the students and even teachers would probably get tired. Outside in the air, Anna and a couple of the others students continued raging on the storms that plagued the small island while Zeek and a few of his elementals co-oped down on the ground. There wasn’t much to work with on that modern island so they had to improvise by moving the earth underneath the island like Oliver. It did seem outnumbered at times; of course there were more students from Genosha than from Xavier’s school but his own little army was doing their very best.

Anna was still high in the air having a standoff with Mickey, and at the time it seemed like she was losing. She was getting a little tired of having to blast out that much air pressure from her hands to combat his wind tunnel like attack that was slowly beginning to suck her in. Who knew where you ended up and Anna definitely didn’t want to be the first person to find out. But no matter how much she tried to push away he just kept forcing her back into his black hole. As she continued being pulled in she could see the darkness that lead into the black abyss of nothing. As afraid as she was she knew she couldn’t give up, she promised herself, the Professor and Oliver that she’d get out of this mission alive. After all she’d just found a reason to really stay at the school, found someone that accepted her, and that could make her smile. “If you think I’m going to be sucked into your black hole...you’re sadly mistaken!”
Releasing her own wind tunnel she jetted towards Mickey and his tunnel almost looking like she was going to fly in willingly, but at the last possible second she put her hands out and unleashed the most powerful blast of air pressure she could muster that threw her far away from the tower Mickey stood on.

As she began to fly backwards she flipped forward and formed spheres of air in her palms and began throwing them at the tower on which Mickey stood, destroying the entire balcony that he stood on.
While floating in the air the girl heaved a few minutes to catch her breath, slowly descending from where she was floating. When her feet touched the ground she still had trouble catching her breath, never before had she unleashed such a huge wave of air pressure in such a short amount of time, it was a lot to take in. But just as she regained her composure, Anna was knocked into a building by a large rock or column like boulder. Luckily enough her ribs didn’t crack or break from impact but that still hurt...a lot! “I hope the others inside have better luck than we are...” she muttered while using her wind force to lift the rock and throw it back to the large man that had thrown it at her in the first place. Too tired to really fly anymore she decided to go the direct approach and fight whoever was left on the ground, at least giving her some time to rest her powers up if she could.

The battle inside was the same as the battle going on outside, Emma was busy dealing with Magneto and both the schools were locked in fierce combat. In the middle of it all, the Professor decided to intervene and try to help them, “Oliver, Jill, take Robert with you into the next chamber, Cerebro should be there, we can’t wait to defeat all of Magneto’s students, you’ll have to go in and teleport the Cerebro while they’re distracted.” He instructed the three of them to do while the others were still fighting. Jill could cover the teleporter close up while Oliver could cover them long range in case someone were to follow them. It shouldn’t be too hard to sneak past everyone and into the next room, just as long as they did it quietly. “Once you get inside I’ll give you further instructions, now hurry before we suffer any more serious causalities.”