Chapter 6

"Go away," groaned Franny. It was morning. Kenna had found her partially phased through the statue of Professor Xavier with her head poking out of his butt. Her first instinct was to try and pull her out.

"I can't believe she left you out here all night! She told me you were fine!"

"Seriously, stop pulling. You're not going to be able to get me out of this thing."

"That should have been a flag right there! I didn't ask how you were doing! I asked where you were!"

"Speaking of, where were you last night? I was looking for you."

"Have you ever heard of the Lion, the witch, and the wardrobe?"

"Yes,"

"Well, instead of a fantasy land filled with stranger danger witches I was taken to a construction site with pushy robots and disagreeable bugs."

"So you were on drugs."

"Is that how that book ended?"

"Did you not read the book all the way through?"

"I got to the part where the Lion died. It was very sad."

"He comes back to life."

"Oh cool, wait, I thought you said you couldn't read."

"My dad read me books."

"Could he not teach you to read?"

"Don't you have class or something?"

"Oh! Oh! That's a great idea!"

"Yes."

"This is school! A place of the learned! I can just go around and crowdsource a solution on how to get you out!"

"No."

"Hold on Franny I'll be back as soon as I can!"

Kenna ran to the library. It was where a majority of the classes offered there were held. In the lofty enclosure students would gather around various tables throughout to receive their lessons for the day. Kenna, not having spent much time here, was not as familiar who was who or what they taught.

"Hi my name is Kenna, it's a pleasure to meet all of you, I'm sorry for interrupting but Franny is stuck in a statue," Kenna said to the table.

"Thank God," said Bobby. The teacher was a fit brown haired man in his late twenties and he seemed relieved to see her.

"For the record that was a cry for help, not an announcement."

"It's not accounting, so I'm in."

"Aren't, you, teaching, this class?"

"I need a break. So Franny's in the statue huh?"

"Yes, help please."

"Have you tried pulling on her real hard?"

"Yes!"

"Did it work?"

"No."

"Drat, have you talked to Kitty?"

"No, I don't know where she is and she scares me."

"How'd she get there?"

"Kitty."

"Say no more."

"So you can get her out?"

"No she scares me too."

"Well do you know anybody here that can help me?" Bobby looked around his table of students.

"Loa, you can phase through things can't you?" Bobby asked the girl with reddish brown hair and face markings.

"Yes, but, you wouldn't want me to."

"Right right right the things you go through tend to fall apart don't they. I guess you could ask Forge to build something, but that could take a while. Maybe Hank could look into it if he's not busy. He loves this stuff."

"Do you know where they are?"

"No but-,"

"Thanks bye!" said Kenna running towards another table.

"I could call them," said Bobby trailing off. The next table she ran to was being led by a shorter rougher looking individual with a beer in hand. The closer she got to the table the more she thought about moving onto another. The teacher stopped his lecture mid-sentence, took a whiff of the air, and glared at her.

"Can I help you?" asked the man with a perpetual displeasure in his voice.

"Excuse me sir-," said Kenna.

"Logan," said Logan

"What?"

"My name is Logan. What do you want Collateral Damage?" Kenna didn't say anything for a long painful minute.

"I forget," she finally said.

"See you around then."

"Wait I remember! My Franny friend," she took a breath to collect her words, "My friend Franny is stuck in a statue."

"Find Kitty," he said, turning back to face his students.

"I would but I don't think she's going to help me."

"Why not?"

"Cause she put Franny there in the first place." Logan finished his beer.

"Then she's probably there for a reason."

"Is the reason to humiliate her and keep her from class? Because that's what's happening right now." Logan growled under his breath. "I'm sorry! You're probably right! I'll see you around ten! I really look forward to your class! bye!" she said walking away as quickly as she could. Logan put his finger up to his ear.

"Shadow-cat," he said.

"Go for Shadow-cat," said Kitty through his ear piece.

Kenna kept looking over her shoulder. He definitely knew her, but she couldn't place him and someone that scary would have been remembered. "Kenna Knox," said the professionally dressed woman with blue eyes and long white hair. She had called Kenna's name from across the library. Kenna pointed at herself. "Yes, you. You're late, again." She meandered towards the table.

"Hi I'm," Kenna began to introduce herself out of habit, but it had dawned on her that she had just said her name, "looking for help for my friend. She's-,"

"Sit," said the teacher.

"But."

"Sit." Kenna sat at the table with the other students. "Where's your books?"

"Probably on the lawn somewhere."

"Why haven't you retrieved them yet?"

"Funny story, I was doing that when I found Franny's head was sticking out of Professor Xavier's butt." Everybody looked at her with mixed reactions. "The statue, his statue, not the person."

"Did you say Franny? As in Francine Waites? The Morlock?" the teacher asked.

"Yes?"

"Class, please excuse me, I need to go look into this. While I'm gone would you be so kind as to catch Kenna up on everything she has missed. Yuuto please give some supplies to her as well," said the teacher as she walked away. Kenna's neck nearly sheared itself apart with the speed she turned to stare daggers at the boy she was talking to. Yuuto only glanced at her.

"He's sorry by the way," said the guy with super short hair and yellow sunglasses around his neck. Both Kenna and Yuuto looked at him with confusion and disdain.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"David, and he didn't mean to stab you."

"So why did you run me through you sword loving piece of shit?" Kenna asked Yuuto. Yuuto pulled a note card out of his hand and slid it towards Kenna.

"You spooked me," said the card with printed letters. Kenna started at the card for a few seconds.

"Do that again," she said. Yuuto pulled out two sharpened pencils and several pieces of notebook paper and slid it to her. She examined it and found it to be indistinguishable from anything she's ever seen. "How do you do that?"

"As long as he has an understanding of the components and how they are made he can manifest just about anything." said David.

"He can speak for himself."

"He actually can't. They cut out his tongue. All he has is sign language and note cards now." Yuuto pulled out another note card and shifted around in his seat.

"You shouldn't know that," said the card.

"Wait who cut out your tongue? Was it Logan!?" asked Kenna.

"It was the 'The Ha-'," David tried to say before Yuuto pulled a knife on him. David caught it. Yuuto dropped it and pulled out another. Their conflict was a subtle game of sleight of hand and quick agile movements that escalated the longer it went on until it finally caught the attention of Logan. All he had to do was walk over there. David and Yuuto immediately stopped everything they were doing. After a very short discussion he escorted them both out of the library.

"What was that!?" Kenna asked the rest of her classmates. None of them answered her and tried to avoid eye contact. "I mean, that can't be normal right?"

"You're the only one freaking out about it," Noriko said with her head down on the table.

"They tried to kill each other!"

"Did they kill you?"

"No?"

"Then shut up."

"What's up with your arms?" Without raising her head off the table Noriko unshackled one of her arms. When the pale skin reacted with the air the lights flickered. "So you disrupt electronics."

"I eat it," Noriko said, sliding her arm back in.

"And the metal sleeves?"

"Stop me from eating it."

"You don't control the eating?"

"No."

"Did you make them yourself?"

"No."

"Where did you get them?"

"Forge."

"Oh, okay. Did you have to pay for them or?"

"Do you have trouble controlling whatever you have?"

"Yes."

"Then he probably has something for you on his to-do list."

"Woo!"

"Don't get too excited. He has a long to-do list."

"How long did it take to get your stuff?"

"He made mine before they even picked me up."

"Well aren't you special."

"Do you disrupt pacemakers?"

"No."

"Then shut up." At that time Ms. Munroe had walked back into the library with an air of melancholy about her. She continued her lesson without skipping a beat, not even making note of the two missing students at the table.

"Are there any questions?" she asked, nearing the end of their time. Kenna raised her hand. "Yes Kenna."

"Is Franny okay?"

"Are there any questions pertaining to the lesson?" Kenna raised her hand again. "Yes, Kenna."

"In the first chapter where you were talking about the fundamental building blocks of life I was really confused about if Franny was okay."

"She's fine, are there any-," Kenna already had her hand up, "Yes."

"Is she still stuck in the statue?"

"The rest of you may go." Her peers shuffled away from the table while Ms. Munroe took a seat across from Kenna.

"She is still stuck in the statue isn't she?"

"That one is stuck in many ways."

"Did Kitty come back!?"

"No, and don't do that."

"Do what?"

"You may speak when I am done speaking."

"Are, are you done speaking now?"

"I will tell you when I am done speaking," she took a breath, "I cannot free her. Even if I could it would not benefit her in any way. She'd still be trapped in one form or another and until she realizes this she will never truly be free. So there she will remain. You may speak now."

"I don't suppose you know anybody else that would be willing to help out?"

"You must not have heard me. There she shall remain." Kenna sat there in silence for another moment until Ms. Munroe gestured to her to speak.

"That's a bit harsh don't you think?"

"That one will not learn otherwise. You may leave now." Kenna was about to say something else, but she stopped herself. She was getting nowhere and souring this teacher's mood would undoubtedly come back around to her eventually. Feeling defeated she grabbed breakfast and went back to the statue.

"How's it going Franny?" she asked walking up with a plate covering another plate of food.

"Quick do you have anything to write with?" asked Franny.

"No?"

"Ugh then help me remember these names, Elliot."

"I'm sorry I couldn't find anybody that could help you get out of there."

"Noriko, I didn't ask you too, Yare."

"I brought you breakfast," she said, taking the plate off the other plate holding the food.

"Trish, put it up to my face, Kenna."

"Who are these people to you?" said Kenna holding out the plate. Franny shoved her face into it devouring its contents.

"They're people that have scorned me today," she said, finishing the last bit of the plate's contents.

"Why am I on that list!?"

"I didn't say you could take the plate away!"

"There's nothing left!"

"I haven't licked the syrup off!"

"I've been trying to get you out and I brought you breakfast!"

"I thought this was apology breakfast!"

"Why am I apologizing!?"

"You told that witch I was trapped and where to find me!"

"No I didn't! I haven't even seen Illyanna today!"

"Who?"

"The Russian pentagram woman?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. I am talking about Ororo!"

"Who?"

"Ororo! Long white hair! Controls the weather!"

"Ms. Munroe?"

"Yes!"

"I thought she was going to help you!"

"I hate her!"

"Well I'm sorry! I didn't know!"

"I'll forgive you a little more if you let me lick the syrup off that plate!" Kenna held the plate back out for Franny to lick.

"What did she do to you?"

"She usurped Calisto."

"Oh."

"Calisto was kind of a big deal to us."

"Thank you, I was afraid I was supposed to know who that was."

"Yup, fought her in single combat for the right to lead the Morlocks. And when she won she gave some vague orders and never returned."

"Did she at least say why she never returned?"

"No and even if she did there's nothing she could say that would make me hate her any less."

"Why isn't she on the scorned list?"

"For the same reason Kitty isn't. What am I gonna do to them? One can phase through anything and the other controls a fundamental force of nature."

"Yeah how does she do that? There's way too many things that go into making weather. What does she do that specifically controls any of that?"

"I don't know, maybe it's the same way Crystal controls fire and water."

"Who?"

"Some mutant I'm roomed with. Nice enough, takes direction better than most."

"I'm learning about so many people today."

"Wait a minute. Where did you get those clothes?" Kenna looked over her autumn colored jeans, shirt, vest combination.

"They're mine?"

"Don't lie to me. All our stuff is still buried in the debris that was once our room."

"They're mine, now."

"Where did you get them?"

"They're Layla's."

"Layla Miller?"

"She's also some mutant I'm roomed with. You know her?"

"Not personally. She was one of the people that I couldn't account for when the fire alarm went off last night."

"Yeah I overhead something about that while I was cleaning breakfast dishes. You've made quite a name for yourself here already."

"Do you know where she is?"

"I've only met her yesterday and I never saw her again after that."

"Interesting."

"Do you think she's somehow connected with everything else going on here?"

"No," Franny sighed.

"Are you sure? She was saying some pretty weird stuff before she disappeared."

"Yes, they're not hiding anything. At least not without good reason," Franny begrudgingly admitted.

"But the implanted memories."

"Turns out they were more of a mental bandage to cover the trauma of my death."

"But the leg thing that was in you."

"They gave it back to me like it was no big deal."

"But the iron man in the basement."

"The what?"

"Oh crap I wasn't supposed to say anything about that! That's just between us okay!"

"Are you telling me they have Tony fuckin Stark trapped in their basement?"

"No nothing weird like that. I think it was just his armor. But at the same time it wasn't his armor. Whatever it was, Forge was really nervous about it."

"Explain."

"I didn't get a real good look at it, but it was gold and purple instead of his usual gold and red."

"You get into the weirdest shit when I'm not around."

"And I haven't even told you about the sketchy bird skeleton man yet."

"Okay, now you're just making this up. Or maybe you're not? These sound like lies but you don't sound like you're lying."

"What do I sound like when I'm lying? Apparently everybody can tell somehow."

"Why would I tell you that? What does that do for me?"

"I would be-," It was only then did Kenna spot Ororo watching them from across the quad, "That can't be good."

"What? What's going on?"

"Ms. Munroe is looking at us."

"Good, pull down my pants."

"What!?"

"I'm going to give her what I call the 'solar eclipse'. That's when I turn up my light and show her my ass."

"Absolutely not!"

"Why?"

"Cause I'll get-,"

"What? What's going on now?"

"She flew to the roof."

"It's fine as long as she isn't doing any specific motions."

"She's raising her hand to the sky."

"Fuck"

"She's saying something now but I can't tell what."

"She's commanding the skies."

"To do what though?" The skies darkened with a fat drop of rain landing nearby. Kenna stared intently at where it landed. "Is she insane!?"

"You should probably get inside."

"But what about you!?"

"I'll be fine. She won't hurt me. She only wants my misery." Kenna looked back and forth between Franny and the building a few more times before running for shelter. Franny watched her run away onwith her two plates raised above her trying to shield herself from the rain's preamble. She could longer hear Kenna's panicked footsteps when the bottom fell out. The cold sheet of water came down all at once as if it had only been waiting for Kenna to get out of the way.

She couldn't be drowned. Not in this way. Ororo knew this all too well but enjoyed the challenge all the same. Franny couldn't even see her but was determined not to give even the slightest hint that she couldn't suffer this. The usurper would not get that pleasure from her. For the longest time the rain fell upon her like it was trying to erode away the very statue she was held by. Until it didn't. The deluge weakened its barrage upon her seemingly without reason. Franny thought that perhaps Ororo had finally grown bored of this lesson, or perhaps she was only gearing up for an even greater torrent. The true reason only revealed itself in the form of a scream. Not a scared scream mind you, but defiant one. Franny managed to crane her neck enough to one side to witness Kenna running back across the quad under an expansive tarp.

"Are you insane!" yelled a soaked Franny.

"AAAAAHHHHH maybe AAAAAHHHHH!" yelled Kenna as she pitched the tarp over the statue protecting them both from the rain. The gentle patter of the rain continued on as Kenna did her best to secure the tarp to the statue's base.

"You're so stupid Kenna."

"Turn on your light please this is hard to do in the dark."

"Where did you even get a tarp? Is this one of ones that are covering that hole you made in the women's dorm?"

"Yup."

"So there's rain now pouring into that building."

"I assumed she would stop raining in that particular area."

"Maybe if she notices."

"You need it more anyway."

"How did you not get wet?"

"Oh I did. My circulation is getting cut off as we speak."

"Is this tarp going to be able to hold you?"

"Claws."

"Huh?"

"Give me your claws!" All of Franny's claws popped from behind her. Kenna grabbed a hand and jabbed them into her skin releasing steam into the air.

"Hot! Hot!"

"Just a few more seconds."

"It burns!"

"Okay done."

"Ow!"

"It wasn't that bad."

"Ow!"

"It's just steam."

"You've lost your claw privileges!"

"It wasn't exactly a great experience for me either!" The rain picked back up. "So what's going to happen now?"

"I don't know. Like I said. I saw her prance into my world, overthrow our governing body, throw some weather shit around, and prance right on out. I don't know much about her otherwise."

"Didn't you have a conversation with her not too long ago? What did you even talk about?"

"I don't know. I spat at her every time she tried to start a sentence."

"Why am I standing between you and her again?"

"I don't know! And I've been telling you not to do this the whole time!" The wind picked up shaking the tarp violently.

"Franny!" yelled Kenna over the roar of the wind.

"What!?" Franny yelled back.

"I'm getting the impression she doesn't like being challenged!"

"Yeah I'm getting strong 'don't defy me' vibes from her!"

"Are you sure she's not going to kill us!?" A thunderous bolt of lightning struck the ground in the distance.

"Not intentionally? And even then there's always Elixir." The ground shook as another bolt hit the ground away from them. "Kenna!" Franny yelled.

"What!?" Kenna yelled back.

"May I ask you kind of a personal question since we might die?"

"Sure! Why not!"

"Do I smell!?"

"No!?"

"Are you really lying to me right now!?"

"Seriously! What is my tell!? Is it a twitch!? Doest thine nostrils flare uncontrollably!?

"I'll never tell!"

"Yes, you have an odor! But it's never really bothered me!? It's just kind of different! How often do you shower!?"

"Well I lived in a sewer before I came here! So I guess never!"

"That would do it!"

"How often do you shower!? Is it like a daily thing or!?"

"I used to all the time until all this happened!"

"What!?"

"I kind of just wipe myself down with sanitizer these days!"

"You're disgusting!"

"How would I shower Franny! I'd destroy the shower before I got anywhere!"

"Just jab a kitchen knife into your leg before you shower!"

"I tried that once! It didn't work out as well as you'd think!"

The symphony of the storm crescendoed all around them and for a brief moment it felt like the totality of its force was focused on them and them alone. Then, as before, the moment passed. All at once the anomalous weather patterns had stopped. The symphony was over. Even as the sun began to explore the world again Kenna still clung to the thick layers of cloth and plastic waiting for the other shoe to drop. The wind did pick up again but not like before. It was swirling, but not around them. And it was getting closer. Ororo yanked the tarp off the statue.

"Leave," said Ororo. She did not look remotely wet. Even with her eyes glossed over with a mysterious energy Kenna could tell daggers were being stared at her.

"So, I think the problem here is-," Kenna said as thunder cracked.

"I did not say you could speak." Kenna said nothing else, but she didn't leave either. There was temptation to keep talking. To make an argument or observation that would hopefully defuse everything. But it had become painfully obvious now that her words meant nothing to the weather witch. Why would they? With such power to bolster demands compliance would be expected if not customary. Anything else would be an insult. So, there she stood. One disaster staring down another. "This one is not very wise, is she?" asked Ororo. Franny spat at her. "Leave, and I promise that one will be removed. You may speak."

"Safely?" asked Kenna.

"Safely."

"Franny?"

"Just go already!" yelled Franny.

"Fine! Whatever! I got classes anyway!" yelled Kenna as she left. Once Ororo was sure Kenna was out of earshot she came closer to Franny. Neither exchanged anything at first. Franny hardly even looked at her.

"You may speak," Ororo said softly. Franny tried to spit at her but found herself lacking in spittle.

"Where were you?" Franny asked.

"Elsewhere."

"So not even genocide is worth your attention? Good to know."

"Do not confuse my absence for apathy. The very moment I got word of this atrocity I begged anyone who would listen to come to your aid."

"We wouldn't have needed aid if you had just left us alone."

"You were taking people and turning them into Morlocks. This could not be allowed to continue."

"We never took anybody that was going to be missed."

"You took children."

"Only politicians' kids. Even then some of them never even noticed they were gone until they started threatening us."

"It was still unacceptable."

"We were at war. We're mutants, actual mutants. Humans hate us and genetics is not on our side. They were taking us, so we took them. Recruiting was our only option if we were to survive as a society and you came on in and said 'stop'. And you know what was the really pathetic part? I was all for you. Callisto was great and all, but you were something else entirely. Even without gale force winds at your fingertips you kicked Callisto's ass. I wasn't even against the new direction you wanted us to go. It's not like I enjoyed kidnapping, I was just really good at it. But then you left, and you never came back. Was it the smell? Or was it that you never really cared about us and it was all just a means to an end? Either way that was the beginning of our steady decline. One that we will never recover from now."

"Enough," said Ororo.

"That's fine. I've said my piece. You may speak," said Franny.

"The fate of your people falls on me. I will not pretend otherwise and for that I ask for forgiveness and renounce any authority that may linger."

"That's it? My family dies and you get to say some cheap words and forget it ever happened?"

"Such things cannot be forgotten so easily. Franny, your pain is justified, but you have no right to sling such venom without ever having known the burden of leadership."

"Ororo!" yelled Kitty running up, "Hi! I'm sorry to interrupt whatever is going on here, but I got like five things going on at the same time and Logan gave me an earful about this so I kind of need to." Kitty quickly grabbed Franny by the lure light and yanked her out the statue. "Do that." Kitty looked down at Franny. "Don't ever sneak into my room you little shit. Bye Ororo!" Kitty took off running back across the quad while Franny picked herself up.

"Ororo," said Franny.

"Yes," said Ororo.

"Please don't tell Kenna what I've done."