Against All the World (X-men RP Jisu 'n Ko)

A frustrated sigh leaved through the young teacher's body as he watched his previous class scuttle out the door with an eagerness only teenagers have when it came to distancing themselves from learning. He rolled his neck, relishing in the chance to work out the tense muscles that had built up through the last two periods.

"Does it ever get easier Hank," he asked wearily as the large form of Hank McCoy, also known as Beast, popped his head in from the lab he was cleaning up after Robert 'Iceman' Drake had decided to try to freeze the hydrocloric acid they had to use in an experiment, which Katherine 'Shadowcat' Pryde had then told him not to even dare come near her highly basic solution with said acid. And of course the young man had decided that was exactly what he wanted to do. The resulting explosion of two conflicting forces had nearly coated the entire lab in the two solutions, and it was only due to his timely intervention that none of the students had suffered any acid burns.

"Don't worry my friend, the kids are just not used to you yet and are trying to welcome you in their own, mind you twisted, ways. Give it time, you'll see that you enjoy teaching!"

Zephyrus Velatura, Zeph for short, rolled his eyes before slumping into the chair behind his desk. "Yes, and today's show was ever so welcoming...And joy, I have one more class before lunch. Let's hope they don't try to blow me up as well, I don't think I could stand to do that again."

Kara shuffled through the expansive halls of the Xavier Institue, dodging some students, brushing past others. One girl even seemed to pass right through her as she walked past. That sent shivers down Kara's spine.

Never had she imagined that here of all places, in a school full of mutants, a safe place for people like her, she would feel the most out of place she had ever felt in her life.

It might have had to do with the fact that she was one of the oldest students at the Institute. Most of the mutants her age had either graduated or were simply there for acceptance and training. She hated that she had let Prof. X talk her into taking several classes which her lack of formal education had missed. She tried to convince him that between the home schooling she got while in the system and her experience traveling to South America and back again she didn't need any formal education but X wouldn't hear it. He spouted some idealistic line about how they needed to be educated in order to set a good example of what mutants were.

So now, she found herself, clutching a class schedule in her hands, trying to find her way to the next room. Finally she came to the proper room, slipping into a seat in the back row and trying desperately not to be noticed by the multitude of other students already in the room. Or by the teacher, who couldn't have been much older than she was. Or by Beast. She sunk lower into the chair with a sigh as the clock came to the top of the hour and the teacher began talking.

Learning from not setting down the rules in his last class, Zeph quite bluntly told the kids- was that a woman in the back? Wait, can't be distracted, teenagers take any weakness they spot. "Okay class, since today is our first day of what I'd like to think of as a partnership, we will be doing a simple experiment in the /spare/ lab," the word spare was emphasized and with a quirk of his eyebrow, he settled his gaze on a few of the students that had been whispering, and the girl whom he had looked at last gasped, as his eyes shifted from a soft sky blue to a vibrant violet without his notice. "There will be no use of your powers once you are within the Laboratory, I don't care what they are. You are to learn chemistry, not explosions. Chemical reactions are a beautiful but often violent occurrence, and I would rather like to see all of you alive at the end of the semester, if only so that I can sleep at night knowing that I wasn't somehow responsible for the death of one of my students..."

When the morbid thought had quieted the remaining students into a subdued he continued on. "Professor McCoy will be helping me watch the class when we have experiments to run, so I expect all of you to treat him with the same respect as you will be seeing much of him."

He paused here to look out at the class. "If any of you here give off natural electricity, please raise your hands so that the proper precautions may be taken." When none did he nodded. "Then I'd like everyone to don a lab coat, grab a clipboard from the counter and pair of goggles from the cupboard and head inside. Don't forget a writing utensil either," he called to the sudden flurry of movement, knowing he was heard when hands immediately went for pens and pencils.

As most of the students were in the Lab, he couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Here's to hoping they don't try to explode anything..." He made to go in, but noticed the woman again from the corner of his eye. She was putting on a lab coat, and realized that she must be a student, because Professor Xavier had said nothing about an observant attending today, and hadn't she answered when he had called roll? But when the rising din of teenagers babbling on endlessly to one another rose from the door, he pushed his curiosity away. It would have to wait until later, teenagers and laboratories never mixed well.

As the class began to settle onto stools in the lab, they began flipping through the pamphlets on the counters before them, reading up on how to do the experiment. Kara heard the teacher calling instructions to the class but ignored him as she flipped through the page. It seemed to be simple enough and so she began measuring and mixing with determination.

However, time passed and she reached a step that she could not pass. The directions indicated that her solution should be changing color once mixed, but nothing was happening. She looked around, but the other students were either further along in the process than she, or much farther behind. So, with a chagrined expression, Kara raised her hand. "Teach?" she called out.

When the man arrived, she titled her head slightly to catch a glimpse of him before turning it back down to the counter. She pointed at her beaker. "It's not changing color," she stated flatly.

Zeph blinked, looking to her solution for a moment, then nodded as he realized the problem almost immediately, though the motion would be unnecessary as he spoke, "Ah, your hydrochloric acid was most likely neutralized during the incident last class, simple enough to rectify.. What you have there in that bottle labeled HCL is a solution of Sodium Chloride and water, I suppose the hydrogen gas would have dissipated back into the air by now, but basically just a simple saline solution. I'll nip into the back room and get you a new bottle. One hundred percent guaranteed not neutralized, I'll be just a moment."

When he returned he had a small frown on his face. "It appears as though we are fresh out of HCL....But I do not wish to exempt you from this experiment, Zeus knows that none of us here need to feel even more left out..." The young teacher thought a bit more on it, pulling at a small lock of his dark slate gray hair that had escaped it's low ponytail in an annoyed fashion. Then, as though the proverbial light had gone off in his head he snapped his fingers and smiled. "I can simply refuse the atoms. It'll be annoying as all get out, but you'll have your HCL, and I won't have to exempt you."

He picked up the glass bottle and made sure the top was secure before staring at it intently, his eyes flashed from the bright violet to a mix of gray and baby blue flecked with indigo. It was only a minute and thirty seconds later (Hank had timed him) that he returned the bottle to Kara with a smile. "All ready, and you'll have to adjust for the saline that you have in your flask already, but I'm sure you'll find the calculations easy enough. Good luck."

Kara watched with captivated interest as he used his ability to remedy her solution.

"Wow," was all she could manage under her breath. She had seen her fare share of mutants in her life, especially now that she was surrounded by them. But the vast majority of the powers she had seen displayed by students we used in showboating. Teenagers having a, who's-power-is-cooler contest. It always amazed her to see abilities put to practical use. It reassured her that mutants were in fact the next step in human evolution, and not some freakish mistake of genes.

"Thanks!" she finally managed with a smile.

Zeph nodded, "No problem, it is my job to help everyone that needs help, and even then, I would like to see all of my students pass." With his piece said he moved on to the next group, observing their methods and group dynamics. He would start breaking up already formed groups to assign partners every week. This not only gave them a chance to work with everyone, but also learn how to deal with others, it was a good practice his Professors in college had adopted, and that had gotten him used to leading those who needed to be lead and helping those that didn't.

As the bell for lunch ended, and with most of the kids finished, those that weren't were merely still writing up their after experiment findings, he spoke loudly enough to be heard over their packing. "No homework today, but don't get used to that. Once we start in on the more intimate workings of chemistry I'll be expecting you to keep track of your experiments with the Lab Notebooks I'll be passing out on Wednesday, even if that means you have to do work out of class! AND DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE THE LAB COATS ON THE RACK!!.....why do I even bother?"

Hank laughed as he took off his goggles, "Teenagers will be teenagers Zephyrus. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a candied walnut prawn salad calling my name, do remember to get something to eat."

Zeph waved off his new friend, massaging his temples with the other hand. It was a few minutes before he rose and closed the door behind him, making sure the labs were locked, not that it was much protection against some of the kids here, but it was generally well accepted that a locked door was to remain untouched unless accompanied by one of the teachers or adults.

When he walked into the large dining area with his bowl of tomato, basil, and eggplant soup he had to dodge several flying wads of paper and had just barely touched his rear to the seat before the TV abruptly changed from the sports newscast to Breaking News Coverage.

"This is Kelsy Carthridge with CNN breaking news, bringing you coverage from right here in Washington DC, Congress has just passed the Mutant Registration Act, or MRA. And as you can see, many citizens are outside the legislation building. There is a clear divide amoungst the American public, as many call for the immediate Veto of the MRA, citing a clear and cruel violation of the Rights of anyone labeled a "Mutant", and we have on the otherside the staunch supporters of this Act. Frank you can't /believe/ you how much anger is in the air right now."

Zeph ignored the rest. He couldn't pay attention to it even if he wanted to. Was that all the other people thought they were? Mindless, unintelligent animals that had to be tagged and collared? What happened to smart voters? How could there be even a slight majority of that? Surely there was some logic in the passing of that act, but at the moment, he couldn't find any. He didn't realize that the air around him swirled slowly in his anger.

Kara, who had been preoccupied in ordering the daily special, caught only several key words from the report. A confused expression marring her face, she turned to the boy behind her in line.

"Hey, what'd that just say?" she asked, nodding toward the TV.

"They just passed the Mutant Registration Act, or something. I dunno," the boy said, irked that his conversation had been interrupted.

The look of confusion slowly mingled with one of angry disbelief. "You're kidding."

"I dunno!" the boy shrugged before turning back to his friends.

In a slight daze, Kara gathered the rest of her food before heading toward the dining area. Her solid white eyes scanned the dinning area, sweeping across heads of teenagers until they finally landed on the back of Zeph's head. Recognizing the teacher, Kara made her way through the maze of chairs to the table the teacher sat at. As she grew closer, she began to feel currents of air moving independently of the airflow in the room.

"Uh, teach? You're uh, circulating?" she searched for a word as she hovered near the open seat next to him.

The air grew suddenly still. Not the quiet sort, but rather the sort where there was a breeze that suddenly died kind. The teacher in him jumped to the top and muttered almost imperceptibly, "Very correct. I was indeed agitating the molecules of various compounds and elements in the air to create a circulation of air. I'd award you extra credit points if you were still in class." But his attention was mostly on the TV, trying to glare a hole into the flat screen which was now displaying a commercial for some candy or another.

Zeph frowned when he realized exactly what he was doing. And, soup forgotten, made to rise. "I have to speak with Charles," he half growled, half sighed. He had so been looking forward to his soup, and now he didn't have the appetite to eat it because he was afraid, angry, and in need of just more than a little reassurance that Charles wouldn't just sit there (metaphorically speaking of course, because he couldn't stand) doing nothing. With that said, he stalked away from the table, not caring that his ever cycling eyes were set in a glare almost as harsh as Logan's, almost, and therefore scaring most of the students out of his path, parting before him like the waters of the Red Sea before Moses.

Kara watched him go with disappointment. She had very much hoped for someone closer to her own age to talk to while she ate and with this new announcement, she need someone to talk to even more.

With a frustrated sigh, she set her tray down on the table, any appetite she might have worked up suddenly gone after the announcement. She ran a hand through her hair, pulling the messy mowhawk up while her fingers deftly avoided her horns, tracing patters around the bony protrusions that she had long since memorized.

"Fuck," she murmured under her breath as she realized just how agitated she had truly become. She could feel her body temperature rising so she abruptly pushed up from her seat and left the dinning room.

She exited the mansion as quickly as she could, trying not to walk too close to anything (or anyone) meltable. As soon as she was outside she let a feral scream tear from her throat as fire flew from each hand in a straight beam into the sky. "FUCK!" she screamed. "Mutant Registration Act MY ASS!"

Half way to the Professor's study Zeph stopped himself. Charles was probably very busy right now, and though he would have liked some counsel from the man, he probably did not have time for Zeph's trivial need for reassurances. Instead he followed the path past Charles' office, where he could hear Ororo and Hank speaking quietly but frantically with someone else. He was too new to the team to simply walk in, felt too awkward to demand answers. And so that is how he found himself walking outside the mansion, staring at the clouds, mentally making a tally of the various elements in the air and unsurprisingly finding far less pollution in the air than in the city where he had grown up. He disliked being alone, that was when the weight of knowing exactly what was wrong with the world came crashing down upon his head. When he was in college he had solved this by surrounding himself with friends, by joining a Fraternity and going to parties and events as often as he could afford in regards to time while still keeping his grades up in the 99th percentile.

"What do I do now," he wondered to himself, watching as the air rippled in front of him while he mindlessly gathered the nitrogen ( the element that majority of the air we breathe is made of) in the air and condensed it into a liquid, watching as the liquid gave off a cold mist. It hung in the air for a short while before he was startled out of his concentration by a loud exclamation, causing him to drop the now liquid nitrogen, which immediately froze the rose bush that it had been hovering above. "Dammit," he swore softly.

Through the bursts of fire and curses, Kara heard movement nearby and immediately stayed both her tongue and her powers. She turned, looking about until she spotted the origin of the sound.

"Oh shit," she said under her breath, hoping that Zeph hadn't seen too much of her display. Rolling her eyes she walked closer to where the man stood. "Hey," she said awkwardly as she drew closer.

Zephyrus took one glance at the now frozen rose bush, which was giving off a mist that only very cold things gave off, before turning fully towards Kara and smiling sheepishly. "Hello. Kara, was it? I'm sorry for my abrupt departure a few minutes ago in the cafeteria. I do believe I had to, ah, give myself time to cool off, as it were. I'm not a very good conversationalist while I'm angry, and I still rather am, and probably will continue to be for a while. That damn bill..."

And at that he remembered just why he was so frustrated and gave a shoulder heaving sigh. "It truly is too much to hope for, isn't it? Equality that is," he asked himself rhetorically as one hand came up to pinch at the bridge of his nose, the other cradling his elbow. "But when has humanity ever truly endorsed equality. Each and every demographic has had to fight for it. Everything from nobility, or lack thereof, to religion, to race, to sexuality.... and now, genetics." He mumbled, half to himself, half to the rest of the world. As he spoke a rose, which had been thoroughly frozen by the liquid nitrogen that had fallen on it, slowly cracked at the stem then finally dropped off to the floor, the sharp sound of the brittle petals shattering on a rock drawing his mind away from his inner musings. "Ah, sorry again, I have been told I am quite easy to distract."