xp_logs | Crystal and Alex - Just another fun day at the beach

While surfing in Hawaii, Alex and his friends discover a "newly" manifested mutant causing a mini-rainstorm.

It was another sunny, beautiful day in Hawaii. Crystal lay on a long beach-chair, clad in a bikini and sunglasses. She had chosen a spot close enough to enjoy the sound of the ocean, but not close enough to be in danger of getting wet. Around her, people chatted, shouted, and laughed, but Crystal was oblivious to their voices, intent only on her own purpose at the beach... relaxation and a great tan.

Alex, Jared and Vida were taking advantage of the beautiful sunny day as well, all three college students walking towards the surf, surf boards under their arms. With the increase of tourists, Alex had left Crush with Jared's family, so he could at least have little kids to play with and had also come to donning his suit more often, not wanting any accidents to occur that would set off his powers

Jared stopped suddenly and he was lucky Alex hadn't hit him with his board. "Yo Jared, what's up?" The native Hawaiian pointed to a girl nearby sunbathing. "Dude, Alex, don't you think she's cute?" Vida, who had come to join the boys rolled her eyes. "Yes Jared, ask him when his girlfriend is standing right here!" Laughing at them both, Alex just put a hand on Jared's shoulder. "Dude, she's much to young for you and look, she already has an admirer." Sighing Jared nodded, "Yeah your right...race you to waves!" And he set off at a run for the ocean, Alex and Vida laughing on his heels.

So intent was Crystal on hearing only the sound of the ocean that it took the man standing next to her several tries to get her attention. When she finally noticed, she acknowledged his presence with two words. "I'm busy."

The man laughed. "Sure you are. Mind if I sit next to you?" Crystal slightly lowered her sunglasses to glare at the man. Not her type. "I'm fifteen," she said.

"Excuse me?" The man sounded surprised at the seemingly random comment.

"I'm fifteen," Crystal repeated. "I'm just letting you know. That way, when I scream and call for the police, you will be lying if you claim that you had no idea of my age."

The man scoffed. "I just wanted to talk."

"Και οι χοίροι μπορούν να πετάξουν," Crystal retorted. At the man's confused look, Crystal stood up to leave. Removing her sunglasses, she started to walk away.

In between waves, Jared had been watching the girl as he sat on his board. The man was clearly bothering her and in turn it was bothering him, so much so he ignored it when Vida called, "Come on Jared! Here comes an awesome tude!" as she and Alex paddled out to catch it.

"Do you have any idea who I am?" the man called after her. Waving a hand dismissively, without turning around, Crystal responded, "No, and I really don't care." The idiot doesn't have any idea who I am! Clearly not used to being immediately rejected, the man followed after her. "Hey, don't walk away when I'm talking to you!"

Hearing the man's footsteps grow closer, Crystal whirled around. As the man reached out a hand, she gave him a defiant stare. "Lay one finger on me," she warned, "and I swear that you will find yourself clear across the other side of the beach before you know what is happening."

The man laughed. "Sure, babe. You and what army?" Rolling her eyes, Crystal turned away. I will not use my powers. I will not use my powers. The man touched Crystal's shoulder. "C'mon. Show me what you've got."

Having met many of Alex's friends from the mansion, Jared had a pretty good feeling what was going to happen next. "ALEX!" He called as he looked around for his friends. at his call, the other two college students paddled over. "What's up Jared?" Alex asked once he got there, a worried look on his face. Jared just pointed at the confrontation.

Crystal's eyes darkened. Furiously, she turned around, attempting to keep herself in check. I would love to show you "what I've got," but my parents would ground me for life. Without warning, a rain shower opened over Crystal and her pursuer; both looked surprised at the sudden change. As the rain intensified, the man looked around and realized the uniqueness of the rain, for in fact the "storm" began less than a foot over his head and extended no more than a foot in each direction of the spot where they stood.

"Mutant!" The word was an angry hiss of disgust. "You're a damned mutant!" Crystal stared at him, wide-eyed. "No... yes... but... I can't..."

"COME ON!" Alex yelled in response to the accusations he could hear even from where they were drifting. He swam as hard as he could for shore, Jared and Vida on his heels.

"Mutant! She's a mutant!" The man's words grew louder and began to attract even more attention, not that the unusual rainstorm hadn't already received its share of curious looks. People passed concerned looks amongst themselves, and a large number stood up to leave. Unable to control this new aspect of her power, the rain continued to pour down, all the while staying in the same small spot. Is this me? Am I really the one doing this?

The three college students dumped their boards at the edge of the surf, Alex barking orders. "Jared, Vida get these people out of here." The two nodded and headed at a run towards the people who were still lingering and staring. Alex knew for a fact staring never helps when trying to control a new power and given the confused look on the girl's face, she was either newly manifested or just discovered a new aspect of her powers.

The blonde mutant stopped just in front of the girl, though a few feet away, giving her space. "Are you alright?" He asked. "It's okay, I wanna help you..."

Through the rain now surrounding only herself, Crystal cautiously eyed the new person standing in front of her. "Help me how?"

Taking a deep breath and thanking god he wore his suit today, Alex allowed a small bit of his power to just make his hands glow red. "I'm like you...and I just want to talk. But first, can you stop this?" He asked, indicating the raincloud as he let his power go and the glow disappeared.

"I don't know." Crystal hesitated a moment before confessing, "I've never caused a rain shower before." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Calm yourself. You need to get out of here, and not with rain chasing after you. Still, she couldn't help feeling a bit unnerved. The downpour lessened to a mere drizzle, then stopped altogether. The only traces of the rain were a sodden girl and the wet sand around her feet. "I just washed my hair this morning," Crystal said pitifully, pushing wet hair out of her face.

With an encouraging grin on face, Alex walked over towards her. "Great job. Trust me, I know that wasn't easy." He moved one hand up to remove a bit of wet hair behind her ear that she missed. "So, was this a new thing or what? Because if you’re having trouble...I know a place where you could learn to control it."

Crystal eyed Alex's hand as it moved toward her. "This," she said, indicating the mess of sand beneath her feet, "is new. This is not." She made a slight motion with her hand, and the grains of sand around her feet began to shift in her created breeze. "I control air, not water. At least, that's what I thought until a few minutes ago."

Seeing her eyeing him, Alex kept his hands to himself, though he'd no mal intent in his actions. "You may not. Rainclouds are created with air as well as water so it may just have been a two for one deal." Hank would be proud of how much Alex remembered. "Seriously, I know a place that would help you learn to control and develop your powers. Would it be something that would interest you?"

Crystal gave Alex a suspicious look. "What, some sort of government lab? I have no intention of being a lab rat, thank you."

Alex chuckled softly. "Well, you may feel like a lab rat at times, but no, not a government lab. It's a school, Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters in Salem Center New York. For kids like you and me. and the lab rat part, it's only the docs who study your powers so they can better figure out how best to help you learn about them." He held out his arm to her, where his suit started just after his elbows. "A friend of mine, Forge, made this for me to control my powers, so I could come here for college."

Curiously, Crystal looked at his arm. "You need a suit to control your powers? Why? Where is this friend, at this school?"

"My powers come from the sun. My body stores up energy that before, couldn't be released until it couldn't take in any more. Then something happened that made my powers more unpredictable, as the energy trickled out a little but I still could not control it This suit that Forge made control the rull of energy in and out of my body so I don't just blow like I used to and gives me a little control. And yes, Forge is at the school, along with many other mutants of varying ages. There would be plenty of kids your age even."

Crystal smiled. "Really? Other mutants my age?" She hesitated for a moment. "I... that is... I'd have to talk to my parents. They're actually probably looking for me right now." Looking embarrassed, she continued, "I'm not supposed to go out on my own. I snuck out while they were taking a nap."

Alex just smiled. "Want me to come with to tell them about it and answer their questions? My older brother is the headmaster there so I could probably answer any of their concerns... "

Crystal's face brightened again. "That would probably be best. So, your brother is the headmaster? That means he's a mutant, too, right? What's his power? How many people go to this school? Are all of the teachers mutants?" Crystal's tirade of seemingly never-ending questions continued all the way back to the hotel.