ISSUE # 43

The next day was like any other for Ian and Rahne. The two got up early and got ready for the day. Of course, Rahne had to get up a little earlier so she could get back to her room without anyone noticing. But other than that, things were just usual.

" Ugh!" Rahne groaned. She was asked by Hank to go over the students reports papers and grade them herself, while he tended to some X-men business. But despite her reluctance she did accept in the end for she knew that the day was going to get better. The sooner she finished the sooner she could start her teams field day exercise. " Alright, that just tae about finishes those papers. Tha' wasn' so bad." Rahne stated. She got up from her chair and started stretching, just as her training squad, The Paragons, walked in. " Och, hey guys. Ye got here just in time. I just finished grading your papers." Rahne told the kids.

" Miss Sinclair, you're speaking with your accent again." Megan told the woman.

" Was I?" Rahne asked. " Sorry, I hadn't noticed."

" I like it. You sound cool." Megan replied.

" Well, thank ye Megan. Now, let's move on shall we?" Rahne replied. " I'm sure you're all ready to get right into things. So, let's head on down to the danger room and get changed into our suits." Rahne told the kids.

" Alright, let's show those Hellions how it's done!" Dj. exclaimed. He was certainly pumped for a chance to finally take the lead in the field day exercises.

" I'm all game Dj." Ben replied. Field day was a day that all the training squads looked forward to.

" I'm glad tae see yuir all excited. keep that attitude. Cuz yuir gonna need it." Rahne told the boys.

" I ain't afraid." Dj replied with confidence.

" We'll see." Rahne replied. " Well, let's not waste any more time. Come on kids." Rahne said to the group. She led them all down to the danger room where they changed into their field uniforms and entered the danger room.

" All right! What is it this time, Miss Sinclair?" Dj asked.

" It's a special one, Dj. Just for you." Rahne told the boy. Rahne turned on the danger room to the special simulation that all teams would face today, and the environment around them all changed.

" Oh my god! Is that?" Megan started to ask.

" HULK SMASH PUNY WINGED GIRL!" The Paragons were facing a simulated version of the incredbile hulk.

" All right, Paragons. The object is to subdue the hulk with minimal casualties. Good Luck!" Rahne cheered from above.

She watched as the Paragons slowly managed to fight to the Hulk and after a long time of pounding away at the brute's defenses, they eventually managed to defeat him, ending the exercise.

" Congratulations guys, amazing job!" Rahne told the kids.

" Hey, Rahne. You guys finished yet?" Dani asked as she walked into the observation room, it was time for the New Mutants to go next and Dani wanted to make sure everything was good to go.

" Yeah, my kids were amazing!" Rahne told the woman. " I mean this challenge was hard, and my Paragons beat it. Your New Mutants are going to have to beat their time!" Rahne exclaimed. She was proud of the kids. Her kids took down the Hulk, even if it was just a simulation, it was still impressive.

" They'll definitely pull it off, Rahne." Dani told the woman with confidence.

" Oh, I wouldn't be so sure!" Rahne replied.

Dani smirked and took over control of the console, while the New Mutants were getting ready below.

" Okay, New Mutants, this is Dani. You have a simulated crisis in the danger room. The Paragons have resolved the crisis with minimal casualties in a pretty good time. If you want to win, you have to do the same and do it quickly." Dani told the group.

And just like the Paragons before them the New Mutants were greeted by the Hulk. Unfortunately for Rahne and her team the New Mutants had a person on their team that could control the Hulk's emotions. And that's what Laurie did, she used her Pheromone powers to calm the Hulk down in only twenty-two seconds resulting in a definitive win for the New Mutants.

" That's so not fair." Nicholas complained as The Paragons returned to their classroom.

" You guys were in a tough spot, Nicholas. The New Mutants have sone with pheromone powers. That's tailor-made for calming the Hulk." Rahne explained to the boy.

" But we took out the Hulk, Miss Sinclair! How could we do that and not win?" Nicholas asked again.

Rahne felt bad for her students. They did try their best to overcome the Hulk, unfortunately for them it was just a bad match up.

" Don't think like that, Nicholas. You did great! And Hope... You did great with your astral projections. And Megan, you did a good job distracting him." Rahne exclaimed. She was trying to get them to cheer up. But she meant every word of it.

" Yeah, whatever." Jessie replied. " I knew the New Mutants would win! I saw it in a vision right before we went in!" She told the woman.

" Is that why you watched from the sidelines" Ben asked, a little annoyed by how Jessie hadn't lifted a finger to help the team.

" We've talked about this, Jessie." Rahne spoke. " The future isn't always written in stone. Some of your precognitive visions may be changeable. But not taking action isn't fair to your teammates." Rahne explained to the girl. " And even if you know you may lose, you have to act. That's what heroes do. What X-Men do."

" I still think it's cool we brought the Hulk down!" Megan exclaimed. She was still her naturally her cheerful self and that was something Rahne appreciated.

" It was very cool, Megan." Rahne told the girl. " Don't worry, guys. It was one field day mission. Next time we'll be back on top. Don't ever forget, if this were a real crisis, you would have saved many lives today. That's all that really counts. And I'm proud of you." Rahne told the kids. " All right! Everyone, get cleaned up, you're free for the rest of the day. But come back tomorrow and ready to learn. We're gonna keep on training as best we can until we're on top of the mountain." Rahne exclaimed.

" Right!" The Paragons all shouted back in unison.

Rahne watched as the Paragons all left the room, all but one.

" What is it, Megan? Do you need something?" Rahne asked the little girl. She seemed to be fidgeting around a bit as if she was nervous about something.

" Uhm, Miss Sinclair..." Megan mumbled.

" What is it, Megan?" Rahne asked.

" Well, I was wondering.... Ya know, since you and Ian seem so close.... I was wondering if maybe you could help me out?" Megan asked.

This hit Rahne like a truck. One of her students came for advice on romance, and it was about her boyfriend. Rahne didn't know how to respond to such a thing, how could she? She could encourage the girl to go after him and maybe Ian would return the feelings. But the other part of her wanted to shut it down now and tell Megan to forget about it. But how could she do that to one of her kids?

" Well, Megan... If you like him ya need tae tell him yuirself. I can't help you with this. But what i can do is tell ye, that ye have nothing to be afraid of. You are a beautiful young girl, full of passion and energy, and kindness, and love. Any man will be lucky to have a wonderful young lady like you at his side." Rahne told the girl. " Be confident in yourself. and ask him out, the worst he cans say is no. Right?"

" Right." Megan replied.

" Then go for it, Megan! Do your best!" Rahne told the girl.

" Alright! I will!" Megan exclaimed. " Thank you, Miss Sinclair!" Megan shouted. She quickly floated out of the room, leaving a hurt Rahne behind to contemplate her actions.

" Och, dear... What have I done?" Rahne asked herself.

" What's the matter, Rahne?" Ian asked as he walked into the room.

" Och, Ian...." Rahne spoke. " It's nothing." She told the boy. " Just a little upset we lost the field day mission." She decided against telling Ian what she talked about Megan with for fear of doing something that would hurt Megan and Ian both.

" Oh, yeah. Hey, it was just one field day mission, Rahne, and The Paragons did good. I heard you guys actually beat the Hulk. That's impressive. No, more than impressive. You guys just had a bad match up this time. Laurie is legit a problem for anyone to take on. Her pheromones practically make her the most dangerous person in this entire school. I mean the ability to control someone's emotions with her scent... Man that's lethal!" Ian exclaimed. " I'm sure you guys will back bounce next time and win. Just focus on getting the team together. You guys got this." Ian told the woman.

Rahne smiled and got up from her seat and hugged Ian, I love ye." Rahne told the man.

" I love ye, too Rahne." Ian replied. He leaned down and kissed Rahne softly on the lips.

The two kissed each other passionately, unaware that just on the other side of the door they were being watched by a less than happy, Josh.