Welcome to Gaia! ::

((Hey, it's something I can work with, and that's the most important thing. And lol about the "friendly" embrace xd ))

As Oliver hurried towards Anna, suddenly everything started happening all at once. She turned and saw him, then screamed something he couldn't understand in all the hubbub, especially with the loud crumbling sound that came from somewhere to the side. Even as he whipped his head around to see what she was looking at with such a horrified expression, someone knocked him right over and pushed him against the ground.

From the floor, Oliver saw to his horror that a pillar had fallen in his direction, but his horror turned to shock when the boy holding him down somehow sucked the falling debris away as if his hand had become a miniature black hole. Before he could struggle away from this mutant that to his surprise looked completely unfamiliar, Anna snatched him up and hugged him. Hugged him?

For a second, Oliver forgot about the power cut and the danger from the falling pillars and rushing crowds, as all of his attention became focused on Anna's arms wrapped tightly around him in relief. He hugged her back automatically, feeling a strange heat filling his whole body - a pleasant heat, like wrapping cold fingers around a mug of hot chocolate.

With what felt like a massive effort of will, Oliver broke away from Anna and forced his mind back to the present. Even so, it took him a moment to respond to her question, a moment where he could only stare at her. "Th-They went to see if they could figure out why the lights went out," he said, his voice sounding distant to his own ears.

Then another pillar crumbled away, and a portion of the floor above began to sag, then cave in. Several people who'd been standing there screamed as they fell to the floor and began to tip sideways as the floor gave way. Adrenaline rushed through Oliver, clearing his head again, and he sprang into action. They had to save those people. Throwing open the barriers he'd learned to place in the way of his powers, Oliver sprang towards a potted tree next to a fountain that decorated a small sitting area. He thrust his fingers into the moist dirt in the pot and pushed his powers out, intending to make the branches shoot out and prop up the breaking section of the floor above.

But...nothing happened. Oliver desperately pushed again, then looked down at his hand. It was firmly buried in the soil, and after quickly rubbing the trunk of the tree, he knew it was a real plant and not just a plastic imitation. What was wrong? Why didn't his powers work? He desperately pushed for his power, but it was like turning a tap on all the way during a water cut - no effect at all.

He whipped his head up again to the few screaming people clinging to the edge, and just as it seemed they would surely fall and break a few bones at the very least, a strong jet of water burst out and pushed the section of the floor back into place. Oliver turned in surprise to see a girl about his own age with her blonde hair pulled into a short ponytail standing next to the fountain, which had shut off with the rest of the power. One hand dangled over the side into the water, and the other stretched out, all her fingers pointing towards the screaming people. High-pressure water spurted from every fingertip, combining into one large jet of water that held up the floor long enough for the shoppers to scramble shakily to their feet and rush off to safety. Then the girl let her hand drop, and as the water shut off, the floor finally collapsed at last with an almighty crash.

The girl strode over to the other mutants. "You okay?" she asked them briskly. Oliver could only gape and nod.

As Anna disappeared into the hole, Oliver once again frantically tried to make the stupid tree grow, but there was still that awful emptiness as he groped for his power and felt nothing. There was nothing he could do to help or save anyone.

It was a good thing these other mutants had shown up, whoever they were. Oliver hurried to Anna's side when the boy brought her back up again, tempted to return the embrace of a minute ago. But there was no time for that now. "Your powers aren't working either?" he asked worriedly in an undertone. For once, he wished it could have just been a sign of his own incompetence.

But before they could say anything more, the other mutants came up to them. "I wasn't showing off," the girl snapped in a tone that indicated they'd had similar arguments plenty of times before. "I did what I had to. But you have a point; we need to get out of here. Now."

Oliver glanced around and realized how many people had seen their little stunt. Even if he hadn't been able to make anything grow, the others had certainly been obvious with their powers. Things could get nasty, fast. Their only consolation was that it was so dim no one could see their faces unless they got up close.

Just then Luke and Valon came rushing up, out of breath. "We heard lots of screaming...." Luke began, trailing off as his eyes lingered on the ruins of the pillar and floor. He swore softly, almost absent-mindedly.

The boys all introduced themselves and the blonde girl finished with, "The name's Aria." She smiled now that the danger was past, and even with a sopping shirt sleeve she was fairly attractive.

"So where you from?" Luke asked, and as Oliver turned to look at him he saw that the boy had kept tight hold on the bags holding his ultraviolet lamps. Seemed he wasn't keen on giving them up. "I don't remember seeing you around the school. New or something?"

Not the way they were using their powers, Oliver thought, but Aria smiled again before he could say it.

"Do we look like greenhorns to you?" she asked with just a touch of scorn - such a small amount that Oliver was sure he'd imagined it. "You're from Xavier's school, right? Well, he might not have told you, but that's not the only mutant school in the country."

Oliver stared at her in surprise. "It's not?"

Giving him a pitying look, Aria shook her head and looked at Mickey as if asking him to back her up. "You can't ask kids to go hundreds and hundreds of miles just to get an education."

Oliver was surprised to hear that there were other mutant schools, but he supposed he shouldn't be. Due to the whole controversy and stigma against mutants, you didn't hear too much about them, and Oliver supposed they generally kept a low profile to escape the discrimination. Still, he should have realized that the hundred or so teenagers in Xavier's school couldn't be the only mutant teenagers in the whole country. Mutations were rare enough, but among all the millions of people in this country, there were bound to be more than that.

"Oh, thanks!" Aria said in response to Anna's suggestion. "We'd love to see what your school's like, right Mickey?" Her face was alight with interest, seemingly forgetting her slight scorn from before. "It would be really interesting to compare, and of course Xavier is really famous."

The boys, however, seemed more interested in discussing what kind of food they were going to eat, though Oliver didn't really care one way or another. Aria got pulled into the conversation, suggesting hamburgers, till Luke began expounding on the dangers of junk food and trans fat, and they started down the street, continuing their hearty discussion and pointing out possibilities as they went.

Oliver looked at Anna in surprise when she took his wrist, and felt his cheeks grow slightly warm again. "Huh?" Then he glanced at her pale eyes. "Oh, yeah," he said in an undertone as they followed the others at the back of the group. "I see what you mean." His stomach squirmed in an oddly pleasant way when their arms brushed against each other briefly as they walked. Mainly to try to keep his mind away from how her touch made him feel - because then he'd really start blushing - he said the first thing that came to mind. "Hey, um...I hope you don't mind if I ask, but...why do your eyes look like that?"

Luke only smiled at the mention of raw fish, but waited to see what the others' responses were. When everyone seemed willing enough to give it a try, he said, "Japanese it is. I think I remember a place up here...." He began to lead the way.

So, Oliver thought, she always knew she was different. He wondered if it would have been better to know all along, or if it was good he hadn't found out until only recently, so he could have a normal childhood, at least. But he wasn't about to ask her, just in case.

Lost in thought as they walked along, he could never have been prepared for her question and instantly flushed as red as a rose. "Wha- Um- N- I...well...." He stuttered, trying to find some way to answer, grateful at least that she wasn't looking at him and that the others were too far ahead and talking too loudly to hear them. "I just...I mean, you don't have to hold...if you don't want-" Then he awkwardly attempted to make some kind of explanation for his behavior. "Still kind of nervous about what happened in the mall," he said with a short laugh that didn't sound real at all.

"Yeah...right...." Oliver mumbled, his embarrassment ebbing away as he thought again dejectedly about how his power just wasn't there. He'd never imagined he could get so worried about something he'd never wanted in the first place. But he'd just begun to get used to his powers, just begun to control them and hone them to actually be potentially useful! And now, were they being taken away?

But Anna wasn't worried about it. Maybe this happened occasionally. He was just freaking out because he was still new. Yeah, that had to be it. They just weren't ready for all that excitement in the mall. When they went into the simulations, they always knew the kinds of things they'd face, so they were always prepared. But how could they be prepared to use their powers in the middle of a perfectly ordinary shopping mall, especially when they were trying to keep a low profile?

Oliver ran through all these excuses and explanations as they entered the restaurant, and tried to push his worries aside as he sat down next to Valon, determined to focus his attention on the menu rather than his own problems.

Naturally, Valon chose that moment to ask what had happened. "I have no idea," he murmured in reply. "It just...wouldn't come." He glanced furtively at Valon, hoping the more experienced mutant would have some kind of answer for him.

Aria raised her menu to hide her face and leaned towards Mickey as though to consult his, then muttered out of the side of her mouth, "Let's just follow them to this stupid school, and keep our eyes peeled, 'kay? And try to get friendly with them, so we can find out the school's secrets." Then she straightened and said slightly louder, "Yeah, the miso soup sounds good."

Normally, Oliver liked Japanese food - not as much as Chinese; too much fish in his opinion - but this time he was preoccupied and couldn't enjoy any of it. He tried to act normally, tried to laugh with the others, tried to pretend his whole world hadn't just been shaken as much as when he'd first learned he was a mutant.

Anna mostly just looked out the window on the ride back to school, and since Valon and Luke were sitting in front of them and Aria and Mickey behind them, he decided not to talk about it anymore with her. He wondered...would they be sent home if they couldn't use their powers anymore? Where would she go? What if he never saw her again?

Funny, how he would have given anything to leave school just a few weeks ago, yet now he couldn't stand the thought.

Oliver followed the rest of them out of the bus, feeling tired and grateful to be back home after all the excitement of the day. He wondered what the people on the news would say had caused the collapse in the mall. He wondered what had caused it. And whether anyone would mention that there'd been at least two mutants on the scene. Maybe it was a good thing his powers had stopped working, though that wasn't very nice for Aria or Mickey.

He didn't really feel like tagging along on Valon's overly-cheerful, hopefully-impressive tour, which he knew was just an excuse for him to show off in front of Aria. And when he saw Anna quietly going away by herself, he made up his mind to follow her, to get her somewhere they could talk in private about this new problem of theirs. So in answer to Valon's question, he said, "Nah, I've got some homework I still need to do. See you later - nice meeting you," he added to the newcomers, then turned to go.

"Oh, here." Luke stopped him and held out his precious lamps. "If you're going up to your room, could you drop these off for me?"

"Uh, sure." Oliver took them, not protesting because Anna's dark head was getting farther and farther away in the press of people coming off the bus. Trying to make it seem like he wasn't rushing, he hurried after her.

((So sorry for the long delay in replying. My internet's been oddly shoddy lately.))

Oliver followed Anna as closely as he dared, not wanting to make it seem like he was dying to walk alongside her again. Not so she would hold his wrist like that again. 'Course not. It was because he wanted to talk to her, that was all.

As the mutants poured back into the school, several of the ones who'd been left behind because of the physical manifestations of their power greeted their returned friends. Oliver spotted Gerald floating around the light fixture, surveying the crowd but not hailing any friend. Did he have any friends?

But he should be paying more attention to his friend. He followed Anna down a less-crowded side corridor, then saw that she entered the piano room. By the time Oliver slowly walked up to the door, she'd already begun to play. He hesitated a moment, then looked down at Luke's bags. She would probably be there playing for a while.

He rejoined the press of people and managed to get through the crowd to the room he knew was Luke's. Leaving the mysterious lamps on the bed, Oliver returned to the hallways and squirmed his way through the press of people till he'd reached the sanctuary of the side hallway again. He paused on the threshold of the little room, listening to Anna's song and feeling the emotions in it. The piano seemed to be speaking his own frustration. This was where they'd first met, he remembered. Him standing on the threshold and peeking in at her playing the piano. On that day, he'd have given anything to lose his powers and just go back home. Now he wasn't so sure.

Finally Oliver shook himself out of his reverie, realizing that the music had stopped. He looked in again, and saw Anna leaning against the piano, her hair hiding her face. So he decided it would be an appropriate time to make his entrance. He walked swiftly to her side, grateful that the piano was on the opposite side of the room from the cluster of chairs where the few other occupants of the room sat. "Hey," he said softly when he reached her side, debating laying a hand on her shoulder but then losing his nerve. "You okay?" Then he grimaced, realizing that nothing could be 'okay' if there was something horribly wrong with them.