When The Professor’s Away

Posted on Sun May 19th, 2024 @ 2:22pm by Bianca Mathew & Max Herrera & Theodore (Theo) Winters & Kayleigh Marshall

3,196 words; about a 16 minute read

Mission: Episode 4: The Savage ConneXion
Timeline: August 31, 1990

With the frequent storms forcing all the students to remain inside, they were starting to get restless. To make matters worse, Professors Xavier and McCoy had been called away on an emergency and there was no telling when they would return. The girl who came to fix the computers had been left in charge, which was okay as most of the students had spoken to her at one point or another, so at least they knew her. Max was of the opinion that she was a sweetheart and also kinda hot, but she was also almost ten years his senior, so he held absolutely zero delusions about her.

With no homework to work on yet, the students were pretty much left to their own devices. Nobody was in the mood to do much, so they had largely just sat around chatting. Max and B had currently camped out in one of the media rooms with the television tuned to afternoon cartoons, but they weren’t actually watching it. Instead, they were chatting about nothing and everything at once. The current topic was the gummy bears they were snacking on.

“These white ones are pineapple, I think,” commented B.

“Ooo, I’m gonna need all of those,” replied Max, immediately looking for the white ones.

“Hey!” protested B. “Don’t hog them all!”

Theo walked in as they were having their argument He was tugging on a tee shirt as he entered. His hair still damp, and a bit unruly from the shower he'd just taken. He had seen the young woman who was repairing the computers, in passing, but had never actually met, or spoken to her. He shared Max's assessment that she was good looking, and that he didn't stand a chance with her either, so he hadn't thought much about her.

"What are you two arguing about this time," he asked.

“Gummy bears,” replied Max. “Not the cartoon; the candy.”

Theo rolled his eyes. "I could go get more. I'm pretty sure I saw some in the cabinet. I mean I'd hate to see bloodshed over them."

"Plus we have M&Ms, Raisinettes, chips, and some Pace sauce I could bring out.

“Nah, it’s okay,” said Max. “We bought this ourselves.”

“We split the cost equally,” added B. “Which means you can’t have all the pineapple ones!”

“Oh, yeah?” countered Max. “Watch me!”

Theo teleported in between the pair. "You two need to put on some boxing gloves, or get couples therapy," he joked..
"Seriously they're just gummy bears."

Kaylee entered the room having heard the others. “Did someone mention Gummy Bears?” She offered a smile.

Theo turned and looked at the new arrival. She appeared a few years older than the rest of the assembled group and was pretty good looking. He gave her a self-conscious smile. "Yep Gummy Bears."

Then turning back to B and Max "Why don’t you rock, paper, scissors for them? Two out of three.."

“Either that or just give them to someone else, saves the argument” Kaylee grinned as she walked over to a seat and sat down.

B grinned. “I’m Bianca,” she introduced herself to the newcomer. “But most people call me B. And this is Max. Want some gummy bears?”

“Hey, don’t give away all of our gummy bears!” countered Max with a laugh.

B rolled her eyes good naturedly. “They can have some of my half,” she replied.

“I’m Kaylee, but feel free to call me Kay.” She waved off the gummy bear's offer. “I was kidding about the gummy bears, but thanks anyway.”

"Hey Kaylee," said Theo as he stepped out from between Max and B. "I'm Theo. Are you new here?"

“Nice to meet you all” Kay smiled before looking to Theo. “I’m not that new, I’ve been here a few months, learning to master my abilities like everyone else.”

"Okay, cool," the biracial teen replied. "Would it be rude to ask you what kind of powers you have?"

“Not at all” Kay shook her head, “that’s why we’re all here afterall. As the Professor put it I’m Thermokinetic, which means I can manipulate the heat and temperature within the surrounding environment. I can generate heat from within myself, manipulate the heat and temperature within the air or within any objects or beings around me. I also have the ability to heal, and I can tolerate any temperature, it doesn’t matter how cold or hot it gets.”

"That is a cool power to have. Is it hard for you to master that?"

“Thermokinesis is pretty tricky to master, but I’m learning. It requires a lot of concentration.” Kay offered a wry smile. “I wouldn’t want to cook or freeze anyone.”

“Are you immune to the temperature changes?” asked B interestedly. “Like could you freeze us and still be okay yourself?”

“More or less” Kaylee nodded. “I’m still mastering how to keep temperature stable, and holding it that way. But as for my own temperature I could stand in a freezer and I’d be fine. Though I haven’t tested how long I’d be fine for.”

"Do we have access to the danger room? You know where we can test our powers?" Theo asked.

“Not without a teacher,” replied Max. “And I don’t think Miss Ricci counts.”

Kay offered a shake of her head. “The danger room is off limits I’m afraid, we’d get a roasting for using it.”

"Okay. I don't want us to get in trouble. Especially since I'm new. Plus, I see their point. It would probably be...well dangerous." Theo said. "But do we ever get to use it?"

“Probably when we’re older,” Max replied. “Although I don’t think the danger room will help me hone my skills at all. I mean, talking to animals is pretty much all or nothing. B could probably use it, though.”

“One of these days I’ll get in there and see how much I can stretch,” agreed B.

"I know someday I'll need to, my power can fluctuate too much and I can blow stuff up," Theo said.

“We’ll get our chance when they think we’re ready” Kay offered a smile. “Until then it’s study and plenty of practice.”

Theo shrugged his shoulders. He didn't particularly like the answer, but he understood it and knew there was nothing he could do about it.

"So, does anyone want to practice with me?"

“I’m in,” said B. “I mean, we can’t spar- again, we’d need a teacher in case anything goes wrong, but we can practice outside for a bit.”

Kay wasn’t sure what to do. “I guess I could use the practice.”

"So, who wants to go first, or how do we do this? I hear what you're saying about not sparing B, but do we want to team up?"

“We could,” agreed B, closing up the bag of gummy bears. “Just no using our powers on each other. Environment only.”

“How am I supposed to use my powers on other people?” Max asked, half amused and half exasperated. “What am I supposed to do, bark at them?”

“I mean, you used your powers against the Juggernaut and his team,” she pointed out. “So no sicking birds on us or something.”

“Okay, I’ll give you that,” he replied fairly.

Theo took a few steps away from the other focusing his attention on the middle distance. There was a surge of energy and a miniature black hole opened up, only to disappear almost as fast. "Like that?" he asked.

“Yeah,” said B. “You could, like, swallow tree or something. Well no not trees. Trees are good. But like rocks. Or something.”

“I don’t know about this” Kaylee gave the others a concerned look. “What if one of us gets hurt? Or worse?”

"We'll be careful. No one is going to get hurt. Or at the very least, not hurt very bad. Isn't it better to practice now, like a game, and maybe sprain an ankle or something, than to be unprepared if we get attacked again?"

“We’re allowed to practice,” B assured Kaylee. “Plus, you can get hurt going down a staircase or crossing the street. That’s not a good reason not to do it.” She paused a beat. “I suppose we could get Miss Ricci, if having an adult would make you feel better,” she added.

“I guess, I’m just nervous about using my abilities without someone around to jump in if anything goes wrong.” Kay offered a concerned look. “Though I guess I could use the practice where hand to hand combat is concerned.”

“So could I,” admitted B. “I don’t practice enough.”

“I told you I’d practice with you,” Max reminded her.

“You are way stronger than me,” B pointed out. “It wouldn’t be exactly fair.”

"B what if you and Kaylee practice together and Max and I can," Theo suggested.

Kaylee looked at Bianca. “I guess we could do that.”

B nodded. “Sure!” she said enthusiastically. “Come on, let’s go!” And she leapt out of her chair and began heading towards the door.

“B, wait!” said Max, hurrying after her. “Come on Theo! Kaylee!”

Theo turned toward the younger teen. "What's up, Max? Is something wrong?"

“She’s racing us outside!” Max called back over his shoulder. “You don’t want her to win, do you?”

Kaylee followed on wondering just what was the best way to spar without the possibility of accidentally harming Bianca with her abilities.

Theo thought of teleporting in front of everyone but stopped himself. It would kind of be like cheating. "Can't have that," he said, getting ready to run outside.

Outside, the storms had subsided. Nobody knew for how long, though, so B opted to stay close to the doors, just in case. “Come on, slowpoke,” she teased Max, who was literally on her heels.

“Oh, you are so full of it!” he retorted with a laugh.

Theo was pretty fast. He wasn't sure whether he was faster than the others and didn't want to show off or find out he wasn't. So, he held back, not putting his full effort into it.

Kaylee followed on at a more sedate pace. She was running scenarios through in her head working out what to do to avoid accidentally hurting anyone. Her abilities sounded harmless enough but they could be harmful if not properly controlled.

“Windy out here,” commented B as everyone caught up. “Everyone keep an eye on the weather. I’d hate to be caught out in one of those storms.”

“I don’t think it would hurt you,” Max teased. “Aren’t you made of rubber?”

“Spandex,” she deadpanned. Then, as Max laughed, she turned to Kaylee. “How much hand to hand do you know?”
she asked.

“Just basic stuff, what I’ve learned here so far.” Kaylee offered a brief smile.

“Then we’re probably at about the same level,” B replied. “Would you rather do drills or actually spar?”

”What the hell, let’s spar!” Kaylee grinned.

"Go ahead Max," Theo interjected, "Go ahead and try to hit me. Give it your best shot."

“Oh, man, I could totally use B’s super stretchiness here,” Max replied. “Then I could attack from behind. Oh, well,” he said with a shrug, then rushed at Theo, mostly just to see what he would do.

Without hesitation, Theo stretched out his hand creating a micro-explosion behind Max. It wasn't meant to damage him, just distract Max.

With a shout of surprise, Max threw himself off balance when he attempted to protect his back and he ended up on the ground, stunned. Soon, though, he burst out laughing. “Aw, man, that was great,” he said as he pulled himself back to his feet.

Theo gave him a Chesire cat grin. "Glad you liked it. If you'd been a real threat it would have been a lot bigger
But, go ahead and throw a punch, I promise I won't try any tricks."

“Let’s do this..” Kaylee motioned to Bianca.

B grinned. “Boys,” she said with a joking roll of her eyes. “All right. Controlled hits. Let’s try not to hurt each other.” And her hands went up in front of her face, elbows protecting her ribs, just like she’d been taught.

Max, meanwhile, was busy circling Theo. Quickly, he darted forward, feinted left, then swung a lazy right hook, aiming for Theo’s shoulder.

The feint worked spectacularly. Had he not been pulling his punches he would have made solid contact. Theo wasn't quite able to dodge completely out of the way. He caught a glancing blow on his shoulder.

"We're guys," he said. "We can go all out."

“I’d rather not leave bruises,” replied Max. “But if you don’t mind…”

"I've gotten worse than a bruise before. I'll be okay. Besides the bad guys are going to try to do a lot worse than leave a bruise." Theo replied.

“If you’re sure,” replied Max and this time, the jab he threw towards Theo’s left shoulder was far more deliberate.

Theo wasn't expecting such a quick response and had no time to dodge. He wasn't sure if Max's blow was meant to land where it did, But it hit him in the center of his left collarbone. It stung like hell and he had to fight the urge not to curse.

He attempted a leg sweep trying to bring Max to the ground.

Kaylee took her first swing at Bianca, to say it wasn’t a very focused or enthusiastic one was an understatement. She didn’t have much enthusiasm for fighting but if she wanted to become part of the x men later on she would have to learn to train, and train hard.

B blocked it easily. But of course, the point of slower fighting was to practice blocking. So, she also tossed a lazy punch towards Kaylee’s face.

Kaylee dodged remembering her training, this was becoming more fun than she’d been expecting it to be. She returned the punch with a lazy one of her own.

B missed that punch, though and it connected with her chin just hard enough to turn her head slightly. She only grinned, though, and attempted a feint to the right followed by a lazy left hook.

Meanwhile, Max had attempted to jump over the leg sweep and misjudged the distance, which landed him flat on his back again. He scrambled to his feet. “Man, I keep ending up on the ground,” he complained cheerfully.

Theo reached down and pulled Max to his feet. "You hit pretty hard, but your stance is a little off. Never stand with your legs straight like that. Secondly, posture is important. Keep your shoulders back and your back straight. Your head should be up and you should be alert, keeping your eyes on your opponent as well as being aware of your surroundings."

"You also might want to make yourself a smaller target. Turn to your right a little."

"Okay, try it again."

“Yeah, once I start sparring, my focus just disappears and I get sloppy,” Max replied. “I probably need to work on drills more.” He took a deep breath and pulled himself back into a defensive pose. Elbows in, he reminded himself. “Ready?” he asked.

"Ready," Theo assented.

Once again, Max darted forward. He feinted right, then left, then right again. Briefly, his brain thought of the boy who cried wolf and as he actuallly threw a punch, he laughed, which made him seem a little unhinged.

Had Max thrown a punch after his first feint, he would have made a solid hit. His hesitation gave Theo a chance to adjust and dodge out of the way. He didn't wonder why the other teen was laughing, he just threw a punch of his own aiming at Max's midsection

Kay was too busy worrying that she’d actually hit Bianca to miss the left hook as it connected. It was a gentle blow but enough to teach her a lesson. She smiled as she took another swing.

It was too quick for B to block this time and she was thrown off balance. It took her a moment to regain her footing, but at least she had managed to stay off the ground.

Kay was surprised she’d managed to catch B off guard. She took another swing uncertain if she’d be quite so lucky this time.

And in fact, B was able to block her this time. She took advantage of the block to throw a hook of her own, aiming again for the other girl’s shoulder.

The teens carried on sparring for several minutes, each taking and landing hits. The weather, meanwhile, was doing its own thing. The wind picked up gradually, whipping the girls’ hair around. It was thunder in the distance that caught Max’s attention, though, and he looked to the sky, which was an ominous grey-green color. “Uh, guys?” he called over the wind. “It might be time to go back inside!”

Max’s tone caught B’s attention, and she looked around as well. “Yikes!” she said. “I agree.”

The weather didn't particularly bother Theo. He kind of liked it, but he knew that wasn't the case for everyone else/."Yeah," he commented, we should head inside and continue this a different day."

“Agreed” Kay nodded. Truth be known she didn’t like thunderstorms very much.

Max reached the door first and held it for the others. Once they were all safely inside, he ducked in, too, and slammed the door behind him. “Well,” he said. “I guess we could watch a movie or something.”

“Maybe” Kayleigh nodded. “I’ve got some homework to catch up on, but it can wait until later if needs be.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” agreed B as they walked through the halls. “The professors will all return eventually.” She turned to the boys. “You guys coming?” she asked, inviting them to the impromptu study group.

“Yeah, I guess,” grumbled Max. “May as well get it done.”

Theo shrugged his shoulders. He didn't mind studying but wasn't sure how he would like compared to the others. He mirrored Max's words. "I guess."

“Awesome!” replied Max. “We’ll get our stuff and meet you in the library in five minutes,” he told the girls.

“So anxious to study?” teased B. “Who are you and what did you do with Max?”

“Ha ha,” said Max, waving her off. “I study sometimes.”

“Like today, for instance,” replied B.

“Yes, like today!” he retorted. “See you in a few. Come on, Theo,” he added, heading towards their room.

The girls, too, headed towards their rooms to gather their books and notes. It wasn’t the most fun activity, but with a storm brewing outside, it was something to keep them from going mad with boredom.

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