A Gifted Pair of Hearts (Lance O_0 here)

[elphy_and_fiyero]

Chills ran up and down her spine as he kissed her neck. "I understand." She said as he pulled away, not really wanting him to. "But I'll work as hard as I can. But I only heat up more when you kiss me." She told him. "But," She scooted over to him and took his hand. "touching you, especially like this, it's different."

Ember looked into his eyes, wanting to hold him more but she didn't want to cause him pain. She looked at her dress and began to smooth it out with her other hand. Her body temperature wasn't hotter than before but she was still warm. "I'm sorry when I burn you. It's not intentional, I promise. And I promise I'll work as hard as I can not to burn you." She took her other hand and gently began to rub his, trying to soothe and ease the pain for him. "I know I can't control it very much now, but some day, hopefully soon, I will be able to."
 

[Lance789]

Lance smiled at her as the vehicle drove up to a mansion populated with expensive automobiles and the grounds littered with persons of wealth and nobility. The Lincoln had pulled up to the front entrance where an chauffeur made his way to the side of the limousine and opened the door. He waited for someone to climb out but know one had. Kneeling forward slightly, he peeked inside to see if there was anyone occupying the back seat. There were two persons he spotted, a dark male and a pale skinned young woman, who were making out.

Lance put a hand to Ember's chest not to feel her, but to warn her she was burning him and his suite. Glancing down, Lance actually chuckled at the burns on his suit collar where her shoulders had been. He stole a kiss from her hot lips before speaking. "I think this is our stop."  

[elphy_and_fiyero]

Ember laughed and looked at his suite. "Sorry. I guess I'm still learning." She stepped out of the limo following Lance. The mansion was huge. Ember had never seen a house so huge. She looked at Lance and smiled. Her hand wanting to hold his but she feared she would hurt him.

The chauffeur tipped his hat in showing respect for 'a lady.' "So why are we here?" She asked him but he just shrugged.

"No one can really know that except Mr. and Mrs. Fulton." He told them. The place seemed too good to be true.

How can a principal of a gifted high school ever afford something like this? She thought to herself. The two of them cautiously walked inside. It was all breath taking to Ember. She had never seen anything like it before. The grand staircase stood in the middle of the room and took up about half of the space. She was so lost in her world that she didn't even notice the butler approach them.

"Mr. and Mrs. Fulton will be with you shortly." He told them. Ember didn't mind. She could have stayed there in that room all day. Everything was so beautiful it was almost like heaven.
 

[Lance789]

Lance's eyes scanned the room as he stood there next to Ember. He had been here before, some of the wealthy folk he knew by name, others were those have seen but hadn't met, and many others he had never seen before. Those he had met before were all friends or relatives of Mrs. Fulton's sister, who was usually the host of these parties. Many people shot glares at Lance, most of them knowing what he had done to the hostess's niece. Lance really didn't want to be bothered by these people, nor had he wanted to leave Ember unattended, especially since a lot of men of various ages all stared at her with the up most interest. Lance held out his hand for Ember to take, letting everyone see that he claimed her as his date for the evening. "We should find Mrs Fulton," He suggested as he led her forward nd into the hall crowded with people.  

[elphy_and_fiyero]

Ember took his hand gladly. "If I start to burn you let me know." She whispered to him and followed him in. Several of the men looked at her with lust. Others even winked at her but Ember just rolled her eyes. She had the man she wanted so there was no need for looking anymore. Compared to Lance, none of them seemed mildly attractive to her.

A hand was slapped on her butt and Ember turned around with a furious glare. Lance was about to attack him but she stopped him. "I got it." She winked at him and then turned back to the other man. "Now I know you did not just slap me." The man smirked and moved closer to her. Ember grabbed his lower region and watched his face grow to terror and pain.
Concentrate. Fire. Heat. Volcano. Her hand began to heat up more and more. The man's face became more intense until he finally screamed. Ember released him watched as he keeled over in pain.
"And that is why we NEVER slap girls on their butts." She pointed at him before turning back to Lance. "Now let's go find her." Lance was about to take her hand again but Ember shook her head. "I don't want to burn you."
 

[Lance789]

"Love, what'd i ask of you about burning people with cigarettes?" Lance asked aloud, taking Ember by the arms and leaving the company of the whimpering man. Lance leaned close to her and for a good show to those who gazed their way, brushed his lips along her neck as he whispered. "Dont use your powers here. About 98% of the people here dont know that our kind exists and believe me, they wouldn't be to happy to know otherwise."

The two of them had been exploring the mansion for a while now, introducing themselves to anyone who was curious of their status, introducing themselves as Mr. and Mrs. Harrendale. The two have ventured through many halls and corridors, all or which reeked of class and self importance as did the many nobles who occupied them. However, Both Lance and Ember had come to a very large dining hall surrounded by a lush indoor garden. The dining balcony stood five stories tall on this section of the mansion and the garden itself spanned fair amount of ground. Escorting Ember along the stone path, Lance led her through the grounds and to the first floor of the dinning balcony which was used as a resting place. They took an elevater to the third floor, where Lance knew the Fulton's dined at their favorite table near the railing. He had seen them starring at he and Ember, watching them approach.  

[elphy_and_fiyero]

Ember leaned back over to Lance. "Sorry," She said after her told her about the 98% of people. "Sometimes I just can't help myself. Maybe next time I'll just punch him." She smiled as they continued to walk. "You know I'm glad you know where you're going."

They introduced themselves to some people but Ember didn't really know why they continued to stop. Nor did she understand why they were even being called to a diner party of the Fulton's. Maybe it was something they had done. Maybe Mrs. Fulton no longer found it a need for them to be together because she might have seen they sharing several moment. Maybe she saw the need they had for one another. Ember couldn't bare to stand losing Lance. Not that now she realized how much she cared for him. They stepped in the elevator and Ember was, or once, glad that Lance was with her. "Do you think they know something we did wrong?" She asked.
 

[Lance789]

"There's nothing wrong, so dont worry." Mrs. Fulton said as they approached the table. There were two extra seats at the round dinning table which was neatly decorated with a unique table cloth and highly expensive table wears.

"Take a seat." Mr. Fulton said. Lance pulled a seat back for Ember and help her to settle in. As he did so, he couldn't help but to notice Mrs. Fulton starring at him with a slight smile across her face.

"What?" Lance sounded irritated as he exclaimed the remark to her expression.

"Well," Mrs Fulton began as Lance to a seat next to Ember. "I have decided since you two have made such good progress and effort of getting along, i figured i'd treat you two for dinner."

Both her husband and Lance glanced at her. They both knew there was a reason for her bringing them to this party, but the reason why was uncertain to them both. "Isn't it a bit early to be doing that?"

"Nonsense... Anyone who gets under his skin is a friend of mind." Mrs. Fulton gave them all a wide smile as Lance scowled back at her, wondering what she was planning. "So tell me, how are these lessons going? What have you learned about her so far?"

Lance really didn't want to answer, but the intent stare Mrs. Fulton was giving him meant she had no intentions of dropping the subject. "Well, she has some basic controls of her powers," Lance cut his eyes to Ember as he tried to form an answer that wouldn't insult her. "She has very good aim as far as combat would go... But i have noticed that she has trouble lowering her temperature in some situations."

"So she can lower her temperature?" Mr. Fulton asked, turning to his wife then before Lance could answer. "You told me she couldn't."

"No dear, I told you he couldn't do it." she replied with a wave of her hand.

"Yeah but its only been a full day, how do you expect for her to learn so quickly?"

"I dont... And besides, our wager doesn't rely on the probability that he can or cant, but lies on the amount of time it'll take him to teach her."

Lance and Ember just sat there as the married couple before them reminisced about them as if they were no longer there. The two of them hadn't noticed the look Mrs. Fulton gave her husband before turning her attention to Ember. "So, do you wish to tell me why you have trouble controlling your heat?"

"Speaking of which," Mr. Fulton cut in, eying Ember intently. "What situation would you need for your temperature to decrease? What would knowing that serve?"  

[elphy_and_fiyero]

It took a moment for Ember to realize that Mr. and Mrs. Fulton were actually talking to her. "Uh, well, for one, if I want to blend in with the real world, I'm going to have to learn how to keep my temperature at a normal 98.6 seeing as my current temperature is around 108." Lance stared at her, wondering how she had known that. "I asked the nurse." She mumbled to him. "Nearly broke the thermometer." She giggled and then wiped the smile off once she saw their faces. Ember cleared her throat.

"Sorry. Well, as for why I'm having trouble it's because I don't know how to keep it at the normal temperature. From what I can tell, no one really knows how to control their gift. It was just the other day that I was running away from........discovering my gift. That's when I found the school." She explained, hoping Mrs. Fulton wouldn't ask further. Yes, it was true that she didn't know how to control it but it was because Lance would always give her a reason to lose that control making it hard for her to concentrate. The smile on Mrs. Fulton's face didn't seem to fit well with Ember. She knew that Mrs. Fulton had something up her sleeve but didn't know what.
She's hiding something. I know it. The question is......what? She wondered while trying to keep her face straight.

 

[Lance789]

Lance could see the uneasiness of Ember's position. Lance felt that he had to say something, that this constant battering at her was a bit much. Before he could utter a word, Mrs Fulton directed a question at him. "So, since it is clear that Ember may need some physical attention in her training, does this mean that you have some special training methods you plan to practice?" She gave him a evil smile then.

Lance's eyes cut to Ember and quickly refocused to his principle. Lance clearly had plans for Ember now that she had so willingly accepted his tongue onto her own. Thoughts of so called 'lessons' swam into his head then... None of them were things that should be mentioned out loud. "Yes i do, some more simpler than others." He only added that to give the assumption that he had no plans of doing anything sexual to her.

"Do you care to share some of these plans?" She asked him then.

Philip cut in this time. "Don't you think that a bit of prying?"

His wife cut a glare to him. "I do have school policies and regulations that must be followed." Everyone at the table knew that it was just an excuse to ask such a question. "In which by the way, i'm still waiting on an answer."

Lance though on how he should answer this question, forming a good practice plan without giving away the fact that he was flat out lying to her. He debated on what to say before the waitress had come over with a trolley of foods and other exotic dishes. The woman began to unload trays of lobsters, crab meats, and other assorted marine produce. Lance stared at his plate as the waitress took off. No one had ordered unless their meals were pre-ordered by someone else. "Mrs. Fulton, not to sound rude or unappreciative or anything, but i'm pretty sure that you haven’t had us brought here to be asked such a thing. So~, why are we here exactly? We know none of these people…”

“Actually, some of these people you know very well…” The voice was of one Lance has heard many times before, a voice which he knew… One he ultimately hated. He swiveled in his seat to see the man, if he were one, approaching their table. He was tall, about six foot four, built solid and wore an expensive suite. The man was smiling in a way which triggered a warning from everyone at the table. He stood at the table front, his eyes surveying the four occupants before locking gazes with Mrs. Fulton.

“What are you doing here Martin?” She growled at him in a low tone.

Barrack Martin beamed at her as his smile widened. “I’m just here to greet some odd friends.” He said, his attention turning to Lance for a moment. “Right~?”

Lance’s left leg began to twitch as he fought back the overwhelming sensation of wanting to tear the man limb from limb. The memory had began to emerge before his eyes and Lance desperately fought it back as well, not wanting to completely lose his mind in Ember’s presence. However, Lance began to feel a churning in his mind which conflicted with his judgment and his ability to think clearly. This eerie sensation became worse every moment which Martin started at him.

Mrs. Fulton spotted what Martin was doing and, not wanting to cause alarm within the estate, decided to distract Martin with words instead. “Martin, you have no business here, in fact, you’re not even supposed to be here. So why have you come?”

“Cant you read?” Martin asked the question as he tapped the side of his head. Mrs. Fulton evaded eye contact then, starring angrily at her lobster.

Philip had been glancing between the both of them as his confusion lay apparent on his expression. He had no idea of the connection of his wife and this stranger and he began to wonder if Martin and his wife had some sort of secret relationship. Philip eyed his wife. “Is there something between you two?”

Her eyes shot up to her husband before fixing to Martin. “I’ll tell you later.”  

[elphy_and_fiyero]

"And who is this charming young lady?" Martin said as he looked at Ember. He took her hand and gently kissed it, pausing to wink at her. Ember had to turn her head in order to not puke.

Who was this guy and why did he make everyone so nervous? Why was he even kissing her hand? "Ember Daniels." Her temperature was rising and Martin quickly moved his hand away. Ember tried to hide his smile.

"I see we've caught ourselves a fiery one, haven't we Lane?" Martin asked as he sat down. Ember could feel Lance tensing up. She placed a hand on his to try and calm him down. "So, tell me, what's new with the school?" He asked excitedly. "Other than this fair beauty." Once again his gaze turned to Ember with an almost lustful look.

I think I'm going to gag. She thought as she took a sip of her drink.

"Martin, this is a private outing. Please, leave." Mrs. Fulton warned. Martin simple laughed as he asked a waitress to bring him some food. Mrs. Fulton caught the same waitresses eye and shook her head. "Now, now, I'm always welcome."

"Says you." Ember spat and Martin turned his head quickly.

"You have a strong tongue. But I'd watch it if I were you." He leaned across the table and glared at her for a moment. Ember was tempted to burn something of his but decided against it. She didn't know of everyone's reaction to burning him, although she was sure Mrs. Fulton wouldn't mind. "Now, shall we eat? Where my plate?"

"Like Mrs. Fulton said, this is a private outing. One that you, specifically are not invited to." Ember told him again. Maybe I should burn his shoes. They would melt. She thought.
 

[Lance789]

"Child, remain silent for a moment," Martin turned Ember, giving Philip a quick glance before settling his attention to Mrs. Fulton. "Now all play aside, do you know why i'm here?"

Mrs. Fulton just beamed at him in hatred, causing her husband to worry but he remain silent. "I dont know, maybe you just get a kick out of ******** up private parties. Bet you've got a ******** hard on you sick b*****d! Dont you have better things to do? like bankrupt companies and such?" This sudden burst of whispered brutality caused several people from surrounding tables to stare.

Philip opened his mouth to speak but Martin cut him off. "Mr and Mrs. Fulton, please understand the unfortunate circumstance that you are in. As of now, your hidden school of mutants, freaks, monsters, or what ever you may call them, are housing murderers, pyros, and entities which pose a great threat to this country's security. If anything, i'd say you are planning some sort of terrorist act or building a biological human DNA alternated army bent on world revolution for all i can say."

"Excuse me?!" Mrs. Fulton burst, causing eyes of of the wealthy to gaze their way again. How ******** dare you insult me that way?"

"All it takes is a simple media of a certain tragedy which occurred two years ago to alert the Chief of Defense of your so call school and its gang of mutants-"

"I RUN A WELL RESPECTED SCHOOL YOU ********!" Mrs Fulton had launched herself out of her dinning seat and was now leaning over the table ready to strangle her enemy.

"Which i will have whipped off the face of this earth with a simple order if i dont get what is mine. Now since it is within close proximity as it is now, i am giving you the chance to relinquish this person and hand him back to me. Failure to comply and i'll have the school decimated and its tenants and students all exterminated."

Mrs. Fulton retreated a bit as if spat on. "Are you crazy? i'm not giving him to you! After what you've used him for in the past you expect me to just give him to you? How many more children are you going to slay? HUH? HOW MANY?!"

"WOMAN YOU WILL NOT TEST MY PATIENCES! I offer a simple solution to a possible future which i know damn well you see no possible way around and yet you flat out spit in my face about it? Shall i ask who's the one who is not thinking now?"

"Why should I? After what you've done to my daughter-"

"What did he do to our daughter?" Philip asked, starring intently at the both of them. Philip hadn't been present during the school's tragedy two years ago, he had a press conference out of state dealing with charitable fundings. He had known after ward that his daughter had been brutally killed on school grounds along with seven to nine other students and at least five staff members. His wife stared back at him with horrified guilt from her indirect confession of their child's demise. She had obviously kept the details from him, or maybe even the true ones. She didn't know what to say, but even as she was about to speak, she suddenly remembered where they were.

The entire dinning hall was silent, including the kitchens. The two of them had been yelling back and forth and now everyone was listening in. "Lets go," she said to her company as she rounded the table. Everyone but Martin rose, however, Lance fell over sideways, his vision blurred and nearly unconscious. Ember went to help him but Philip insisted that he escort Lance to the vehicles, all the while trying to get his wife to explain what she meant. Mrs. Fulton only told him she'd tell him later, trying to brush off the matter while the guilt began to overwhelm her.  

[elphy_and_fiyero]

Philip helped them to the car and headed inside before the limo took off. Ember pulled all her concentration towards Lance. "Are you alright?" She asked wiping his forehead. "We're almost back at the school. Then we can sleep."

Even though her attention was on Lance, she couldn't help but wonder what the whole deal was with Martin. And what happened to Mrs. Fulton's daughter. The drive home was almost silent because Lance seemed to weak to speak. Either that or he just didn't want to talk about it. The drive seemed to take forever and the silence was killing her. Lance rested his head on Ember's shoulder and she tried to concentrate on keeping her temperature down. It was hard since he smelt so good. His touch was soft against hers and everything just felt right. Gently, Ember stroked his head as she looked out of the window.

The driver pulled up to the school and Ember helped Lance up the stairs. She placed him in bed and sat next to him as he lied down. "Now are you going to tell me what happened? And who was this Martin guy? Maybe I should have burned him or something. You know, watching his body burn would have been pretty funny if you ask me." There was pause before she continued. "Lance, what happened to Mrs. Fulton's daughter? Did Martin kill her? Why do they want to take you away?.........Are they going to take you away?" She stood up as the thought really came to her. Once again, she was pacing out of frustration.

"They can't do that. I won't let them take you away. Not when we...." She looked at him and then back at the floor. "They just can't take you away. I won't allow it. I'll burn every last one of them if I have to." Ember's feet singed the carpet. Black indentations of her feet were now in the floor. Her heels were melted so she took the off and threw the in the trash.

"And those were cute shoes too." She mumbled to herself. "Lance, what are we going to do? What if they come and take you away, or worse?" Ember sat next to him on the bed and sighed. Tears began to roll down her cheeks as the steam from them began to rise.
I can't lose another loved one. Not again. Not when I can help it. She thought to herself.
 

[Lance789]

Even as Lance held her there, he could see that reality was fading, the world around him began to darken and he was feeling weaker by the second. He was loosing his grip around her. Ever since Martin had shown up, Lance had been unable to speak, let alone move all that well. He his eyes felt as heavy as his body, causing him to feel as if he hadn't slept in days. There was nothing more Lance could do as his arm fell from around her, his becoming completely limp, and then the darkness took over...





"Why dont you want to tell me?" Philip asked his wife in frustration as she began packing things, using her powers to send clothing and assorted items flying about the room.

"I have reasons Phil now please bare with me!" Mrs. Fulton retorted in a stressed tone. The entire school was in chaos as she ordered all faculty to evacuate the the students and non schooling residents to the basement hangers so they may be deported to another location.

"Dammit Elaine! Tell me what the hell happened to our daughter... The REAL version this time!" Philip was becoming angrier by the second as he gazed a fury at her.

Elaine, puased what she was doing, the floating clothing and objects all falling to the floor as her concentration was broken. She walked to her husband slowly, fighting back tears, placing her hands on his shoulders. "Please love, i cant say now. Love, please just bare with me for a while ok?"

Philip stared into the frightened, unsure eyes of his lover, feeling guilty about adding more pressure onto her. He loved his daughter as he loved his wife, and to have her lie to him about her death was unjustly, but there was something going on here that had her completely rattled. He sighed then, putting his arms around his wife. "Could you at least tell me whats going on then?"  

[elphy_and_fiyero]

Ember shook Lance as she called his name. She even tried shaking him but he still didn't move. Lance lied on the bed, to what seemed, unconscious. Ember rested her head on his. "Please, wake up." She began to cry. "I don't want to lose you too." Worry flooded her mind, fearing he would never wake up. Suddenly, the door barged open making her jump.

"What's going on here?" The teacher asked. Ember shook her head, not knowing.

"He just won't respond. He's still breathing but he won't wake up." She looked at his peaceful face. The teacher came her side in a moment.

"Deary, we have to take the two of you to the basement. There's nothing I can say now but that we're evacuating the school. Principle Fulton has ordered it. Come, let's get him downstairs. Daniel." She cried from the door. A giant man walked in, Ember was almost in a daze. "Could you please carry Lance to the basement, please?" She asked him. Daniel did as asked and picked Lance up as if he were lighter than air. The teacher turned back to Ember. "Follow them and they will take you where you need to go. All your things are all ready packed." Ember nodded and did what was ordered.

She couldn't help but wonder if he was alright. Could Martin have something to do with Lance's fainting. Why did Lance feel weak? Is he going to die? A hundred more questions ran through her mind. Ember's heart couldn't bare to lose another loved one. She didn't even get to tell him how she really felt.

Other students passed her as they ran. At one point she had lost sight of the giant man carrying Lance. Ember ran with the others, hoping to see a hair on his head or something. Right as she spotted him, Ember watched as the Daniel gently placed Lance in a bed. Everyone was chatting and talking, wondering the same thing. Why were they evacuating? At the moment, Ember only cared about one thing and the good news was he was still breathing. If only I could read minds. She thought and then her head shot up.

"Wait a minute, that's it." Ember said a loud and began to search the crowd for that one face. Suddenly, a familiar face came into view. It wasn't the face she was looking for but maybe she would help. "Cindi." The little girl didn't move. She seemed to afraid. "Ice princess." Ember called again. This time Cindi's eyes wondered over to Ember. They embraced as tears strolled down Cindi's face. "It's ok." She told her. "It's alright. Cindi, I need you to do something for me. I need you to find the kid that can read minds."

"You mean, Eric?" She asked finally.

"Yes, can you find Eric for me?" Ember asked and Cindi sniffed but nodded saying she would. The little girl ran into the crowd and disappeared. Cindi seemed to be gone for the longest time. By each passing second, Ember grew more and more anxious. Finally, the little girl returned with a faithful friend. "Eric." Ember sighed. The boy ran up to her.

"Everything alright?" He asked and Ember shook her head as she looked at Lance.

"I need you to do something for me." Ember sat next to Lance before looking back at Eric. "I need you to read his mind. Tell me if he's going to be alright."

"But I-"

"Please, Eric." She begged. "I need to know. I need to know if he's going to be alright. I need to know if he's in pain. Please, do this for me." Eric sighed as he looked at Ember and then back at Lance.

"Fine, I'll do it. But you owe me." He pointed.

"With my life." Ember smiled as she hugged him. Eric stared at Lance for a good five minutes. A few times Ember tried to say something but each time he would put a hand up and stop her. Finally, he turned.

"His mind is in darkness but he'll be alright." Eric told her. She smiled at Lance's soft gentle face.

"But is he in pain?" She asked not turning her gaze away from Lance. Eric didn't answer her at first. Not really sure of what to say to her. Either that or he was still trying to decided.

"No, he's not in any pain." Eric told her and Ember hugged him once again.

"Thank you, Eric. This meant the world to me." They pulled apart and Eric shook his head.

"I'll tell ya, you really can pick 'em." He teased and headed back to his group of friends. Ember sat back down next to Lance and moved some hair out of his face.

He's going to be alright, Elizabeth. He's going to be alright. She heard her mother say. The voice seemed almost faded. As if she was beginning to forget everything about her mother. She was not going to let anything bad happen to Lance. No one would take him away from her. Even if it killed her.