[/color][color=#003300](( Status: Crackhead, Stage 1 ))

Vic stood half naked in his room in front of a mirror next to his dresser. His door was closed, but unlocked. He had his typical X-Men field uniform, but without his sleeveless shirt, which was lying on his bed. His room was dim, the only source of light coming from the window, which wasn't much as it was raining. As the sound of the rain drummed on his window, Vic stared at himself in the mirror, his eyes fixed on a spot on his stomach. Around his belly button area where black veins. These were also present on his feett and a little on his hands, but fortunately, they were covered by his shoes and fingerless gloves.

Vic had a worried expression on his face as he examined the dark crack lines on his stomach. Was it caused by poisoning? Was it part of his mutation? Whatever it was, it didn't look good at all. He ran his hand gently over his abdomen before backing away from the mirror. He then placed a hand to his head when a voice penetrated his mind. He glanced around his room confused. He was use to it by the Professor, but this voice was female. However, he was too concerned with himself to go find out who this new person was, figuring they had another mutant at the school. And apparently, probably similar to Xavier's gift. He looked back to the mirror and sighed.

Bits yelped and cowered behind Sparks as Jean's thought broke against her mind. Out, out, out! Bits thought, trying to make her mind like a hermit crab retreating into its shell. She didn't want anyone in her mind. She didn't want anyone touching her thoughts. She really didn't want anything to do with mutants at all, but she /was/ one, as was Sparks, which left her little choice. The thought of inhuman powers terrified her most of the time. "Easy, Bits. I bet it's just someone new." Sparks sounded excited at the idea, but he kept his voice reassuring. "She probably doesn't know how to control it."

Tobi looked up at the ceiling as he heard the voice and wondered if anyone else had heard it to until he heard Bits's yelp he didn't mind having his mind read since he didn't have anything to hide, the only personal was his life before. Sure it was a horrible life, being poor, having no parents due to one dying and the other abandoning you at the age of eight, but he had moved past it since he met Prince and came to the academy. Being here made him feel at home and happy, so when he heard the voice he merely smiled then childishly smiled and said out loud "Looks like we have a new student and she has powers like you professor." Tobi then paused before he yelled out loud wanting the new girl to hear him "Welcome to the academy I'm Tobi whats your name? Say something if you can hear me!" Prince immediately jumped back as the voice entered his head, his hands started glowing a deep purple and cautiously looked around the room wondering what, or who had just spoken to him. Wanting reassurance he looked at Tobi to see his reaction and noticed that instead of freaking out or looking worried he was, welcoming the new student with kindness. Not being able to control his actions he smacked on the back of his head.

STAGE 1 CHARLES, STAGE 1 ERIK

Charles started as the girl in the bed behind him stirred and her thoughts pulsed through his head. Though his head was aching and his scalp had started to burn where the itch was, he smiled kindly over at the girl, who was attempting to make herself small. "There's nothing to fear, dear. I'm Charles Xavier, and I believe you're a Telepath like me. Now, I know this is a sudden change for you, but don't worry -- you're somewhere safe. We'll take care of you." Here, Erik snorted. We? He was silenced by a glare from Charles, and Erik took a moment to focus on the deep bags hemming his friend's eyes. A pit of fear settled into the Metalbender's stomach -- was Charles already ill?

[/color][color=#003300](( Status: Crackhead, Stage 1 ))

Vic altered his skin color and watched through the mirror as he blended into the background of his room. However, he moved closer to the mirror when he saw the veiny cracklines on his abdomen still there, unchanged with the rest of his body. He reverted back to his skin color ran a hand through his hair. He wasn't sure if he should tell the professor. What if they get him quarantined or something? Maybe banish him into confinement. Maybe he could go see what Hank McCoy thinks of this first before telling Professor Xavier. After all, the man did do research on mutation.

He paced back and forth in his room for several minutes, fretting about what to do. What if he was sick? Worst, what if he was mutating some more? Or maybe he was just over thinking this and it was nothing. Maybe it was temporary? He stopped pacing and picked up his black and yellow sleeveless uniform top and pulled it over his head and down his body. Once dressed, he decided he needed to get out of his room. The space was suddenly starting to suffocate him and he felt like he was going to go mad or something. He exited his room and started walking down the hall, lost in his own thoughts.

Jean jumped at the sounds of Tobi in her head, which caused her to shatter the only non-natural light left in the room. Jean jumped again as her attention was taken by the man in front of her, the other was blissfully quiet. "Safe?" She asked skeptically. "I was safe this morning. Nothing had happened to me, now you tell me I'm safe when I'm in a strange room with two men I don't know, things are shattering and moving all around me and there is a crow of voices in my head." She knew she wasn't being fair but she was still paranoid. "For all I know you are the CIA come to take me away!"

Jean shook her still wet head and asked "if I'm a telepathy why are things moving around me." She pointed to a pencil floating by the Professor to prove her point.

STAGE 2 CHARLES Charles' headache was much more intense now; his brows were knit with pain and he thought his head might split open, but he tried to subvert his agony in favor of the mutant in front of him. Something about her not feeling safe...? His heart was pounding in his ears; he could barely hear her, and his concentration was all bound up in hiding his pain.

There was blessed relief when the lightbulb above him burst and the room went dark, the wan light of the half-veiled late afternoon sun barely enough to chase away the shadows. Behind him, Charles became aware of Erik's steady breath, slightly hitched with what could only be nervousness. Don't tell me Erik's noticed... The Professor would hate to explain his malady to his old friend. He wasn't sick; he couldn't afford to be sick. There was no way the school could function without him.

A pencil floated past the tip of his nose. The girl was saying something about the CIA and things moving around her. "I'm afraid I don't know..." he admitted, biting out his words to keep from sobbing. He could already feel tears hot behind his eyes; his head throbbed so hard his ears nearly popped. "You may also be a-...a Telekinetic. I'm afraid I can't tell you more-...unless you trust me to." In his head, his raven squawked loudly and frantically flew about his aviary, sending shrapnel through his sensitive brain; he winced notably and recoiled into a nearby armchair. He withdrew into his mind, and was appalled to find cracks in the walls of his study. The room hummed in a low pitch and the cracks, though small, were growing before his eyes. The breath shuddered in his chest; from somewhere far away, he became aware of Erik's hand heavy and warm on his shoulder, and he couldn't help reaching for it, like a child would a security blanket when in the grip of a cold.

"I'm sorry, I-..." Charles trailed off as he succumbed to the pounding of his head and the rush of blood through his ears; the last thing he remembered was Erik's arms coming around him and holding his limp form up as he blacked out.

((Stage 1: Sparks and Bits))

"Hey, Vic!" Sparks called, as the other teen wandered by. "What's up?" He scratched an itch between his collarbones, paying little thought to it. Bits tugged at Spark's other hand, which she still held. She wanted to get the testing over with, already, and figured they could just wait for the Professor in the infirmary, which would be quieter than the hallway. "Nah, Bits," Sparks said, shaking his head. "The Prof wanted us to look after things." Well, technically he had wanted /her/ to look after things, but they both knew how well /that/ would work. Bits went back to tapping one toe against the floor. Squish, squish. A frown crossed her face. Her foot felt funny, sort of detached, like it wasn't really her foot at all.

[/color][color=#003300](( Status: Crackhead, Stage 1 ))

Vic was startled a bit when Sparks called his name. It took a lot of effort for him not to widen his eyes and tense up at the younger male's follow up question. Fortunately, he kept a relaxed demeanor, hiding any concern about his situation behind his poker face. "Not much, man," the seventeen year old replied with a sigh. "Just dying of boredom. And this weather is bumming me out." He stopped and glanced down the hall before looking to Bits and then back to Sparks when he heard the boy mention that they were looking after things.

"Wait, Professor X left you guys to watch things? What's going on? I heard a voice in my head earlier. A girl," he said, wondering if they heard her too and hoping one of the two would fill him in on what he missed while he was hiding out in his room.

"I totally feel you. Nobody likes the rain except my sister," the younger man sympathized. Then Sparks nodded. "Yeah, us too. She's probably the reason the Professor took off in such a hurry. He was just saying something about running some tests because Bits was out in the rain -- again -- and just suddenly left. Wish he'd give us some clue as to what's going on. It would make things so much easier. But that's the Professor for you."

(Status: Butterfly Bruise Stage one) After Tobi had yelled out he started feeling a burning sensation on his stomach the same for Prince "Tobi, lets go back to the room." Prince said in a hushed worried tone, making Tobi feel tense. Both boys left without a word and into their room where the two of them took off their shirts "What the? A butterfly shaped bruise this is too weird." Prince said out loud as Tobi silently agreed "Should we tell the Professor?" Tobi asked a little worried "No, at least not yet. We'll wait until it starts to get unbearable after all in case you haven't noticed the professor needs to work out a few issues of his own."

[/color][color=#003300] Victor looked from Sparks to Bits, who barely said a word. Of course, he'd be surprised if she did say something to him. She had never before. It seemed like her brother was much more of an extrovert than she was.

"Not going to say hi to me?," the young man smirked, noticing that she was frowning about something, but not sure about what. Maybe she was just uncomfortable with him around? However, her constant foot tapping was slightly getting to his nerve. He maintained his smile though. He looked back to Sparks, figuring Bits wasn't going to say anything to him.

"Tests? Just cause she been out in the rain? That serious? So the Professor thinks there's something up with the rain?" Obviously, the Professor was concerned about more than Bits getting a cold or something if he was insisting on a test. "So which way did the Professor go?," Vic asked, looking past Sparks and down the hall. He knew Xavier was probably preoccupied, but Vic thought his condition might be urgent too. No offense to Beast or anything, but he didn't want to end up looking like a monster if his was still mutating.

Bits pulled closer to Sparks, almost hiding behind him. She darted a wide-eyed glance at Vic through her wet hair, but said nothing. Sparks thinks a moment, then gestures in the proper direction. "The Prof headed that way," he said, gesturing in the proper direction. After a brief pause, during which Bits tugged at his hand, he said, "Nah, y'know what? I want to meet the newbie. We'll come with you, Vic," much to her disappointment. She didn't /want/ to meet a new person. She squeezed her brother's hand, but he shook his head. "It'll be fine, Bits. Come on, let's go." And he headed off down the hall in search of the Professor, Bits reluctantly following.

Jean muttered and shifted in the dark. "I cant see" she said before turning to the man who'd.held up Mike's car. She watched him for a moment before muttering and getting up to open the door. Ugh. Couldn't the floating things stop following her for just a little while? Now the chair that was in the room seemed to be following her. "Come on. Lets go where we can see and there is nothing that can move." She opened the door only to pale. The man who'd named himself as a professor seemed to have collapsed. "Should we get him to a hospital?" She asked of Eric quite forgetting that her head was still broadcasting. Everything.

STAGE 1 ERIK Erik felt Charles collapse before he saw it. He prided himself on his ability to detect malady by the minute changes in the iron in a person's blood; the fluttering of Charles' heart and the swirling of blood through his brain told the Metalbender that his friend was in grave danger. Before the Telepath had the chance to black out completely Erik was at his side, encircling him with his arms and holding him up as he became nothing but dead weight. Charles' hand was still warm on his, and the Metalbender regarded it with warmth and sadness in his calculating bottle-green eyes.

So, yet again, Charles Xavier was suffering for all of mutantkind. Erik smiled bitterly, suddenly hyperaware of the bony growths jutting out of his brows and cheekbones; he couldn't help but wonder what Charles had come down with. His morbid curiosity would have to be settled elsewhere, as the other mutant in their presence was scared beyond belief, exhausted, and obviously quite unused to her powers.

"No, there's an infirmary here. I'll take him; you're welcome to come along, if you'd like." He tacked on the last sentence out of desire to keep an eye on her. She hadn't seemed willing to accept Charles' help, but maybe if she saw him for all he was, she would be more willing to believe him, to stay. He couldn't bear the thought of recruiting for Professor X's cause, but the viruses were aimed at all of them, and as such, Brotherhood and X-Men could not afford to wage war with each other. Just this once, he would become Charles' ally again. Just this once.

He whisked the now-thoroughly unconscious Professor into his arms and hurried out into the hall.

((I'm so sorry for my lateness, everyone! I've been sicker than a dog lately, and haven't had the energy to post. :c))

((That's okay, Avarice. I'm glad you're feeling at least a little better.))

Sparks heard the word "hospital" in his mind and picked up the pace. He hoped everyone was alright! As he turned a corner, he narrowly avoided colliding with a tall man wearing a metal helmet. "Whoa, sorry!" he said, pulling Bits to one side so she wouldn't do the same. "Hey, what happened to the Professor? Is he alright? Who are you? You're not the new girl -- she's a girl, for one thing, and you're not." Way to state the obvious, Sparks thought to himself, but he was worried about the Professor. Bits couldn't help but smile a little at her brother's slip -- a very tiny change in expression that most wouldn't recognize for what it was. It was so like him, to get overexcited about things. But she squeezed his hand. "Nah, I'm sure he didn't do it, Bits, otherwise why would he be helping? Yes, he's helping...you are helping, right?" The last question was directed at Erik.

STAGE 1 ERIK More of the Professor's students? Good lord, how many did he have? Erik rolled his eyes and held Charles close to him, as if to show protectiveness. (That's not to say he didn't feel it -- with Charles so limp and helpless in his arms, even his powerful mind disabled, there was no way Erik would let anything touch him.)

"...you may call me Magneto; the name may not be pleasant to you, and for that, I am sorry," he said curtly. "And of course I'm helping -- friend or foe, we're all targets of these diseases. I have to get Charles to the infirmary; can you help me with that?" By this time, his voice had quieted to a low murmur, pity at the back of his mind as he looked over these new mutants. He had noticed a slight limp in the girl's stride as she approached behind the boy, who was evidently her brother. He had encountered something similar with one of his own mutants, who had ended up looking like a desecrated ragdoll...

He hadn't expected to be grazed by lasers that day, nor had he expected for her to spit at him in disgust. He was just grateful he wouldn't end up all rotten cotton and squishy limbs; he was suddenly very conscious of the spurs at his brows. The dull ache in them had grown to a raging burning in the short time it had taken him to gather Charles to him and move into the hall. A rock formed in the pit of his gut -- his disease was advancing. He would have to hurry and talk to the Professor about tracking down a cure.

"What are your names? I could really use your help."

Sparks flashed a bright grin. "Magneto, huh? Awesome name, dude. Yeah, we can help. The Professor wanted to check my sister out anyhow, after she was out in the rain. Again. Said something about it being bad -- and Bits sensed something different about it. Not that she had enough sense to come inside." Bits gave her brother a very slight shove. "Yeah, yeah, you've already made that clear. Too late to worry about it now, I suppose. Anyhow. Infirmary...thataway." Sparks took a moment to orient himself and then turned in the proper direction. "Just follow us. Oh, our names? I'm Sparks; and this is my sister, Two-Bits. Or just Bits. She'll answer to either." Bits looked at Magneto askance. There was something about the man that seemed dangerous. And his words did nothing to reassure her. What did he mean, "friend or foe"? She would have to be extra careful of him, she decided.

Jean stood off to one side of the room under the sheet she had grabbed off of her bed. "I'm coming too" she said and thought to them all. She looked at Magneto and asked "Will he be alright?" She bit her lip and hid under the sheet as she saw the other students come in. All that could be seen was her fox red hair and the feral green glint of her eyes from under the sheet. She shifted under the sheet before saying quite uncomfortably "I'm Jean."

[/color][color=#003300] (( Status: Stage 1 ))

Vic remained in the background a bit when the siblings came upon a stranger with Professor Xavier in his arm. Without realizing it, the color of his skin and special uniform altered to camouflage into the walls of the academy, becoming near invisible. When he was standing still, it was near impossible to see him. It was when he moved that made it a little easierr but only if you had keen eyes. It was somewhat of a defense mechanism whenever he felt a potential threat. And when the stranger introduced himself as Magneto, he was certain he had heard the name before. Some of the older members, also known as the "First Class", had mentioned the name before, but Victor never really paid attention.

Vic relaxed a bit when it seemed that Magneto had no ill intentions and was apparently, helping the Professor X. Sparks was quick to accept the man, but Victor stayed cautious. He then turned his head when he heard the voice of the new girl he had heard earlier. She introduced herself as Jean. Vic's camouflage faded and he became visible again as he looked at her and then to Magneto. "Anole," he introduced himself using his codename.