Angel/Ororo and then Angel/Marius (and Julio)

[x-firestar.livejournal.com]

In order to get the emergency vehicle to where they need to be, Ororo and Angel head out to clear the roads.




Kansas City would have looked pretty in snow if it hadn't been emergency situation. At this point, it looked like something out of Narnia and Angel have expected to see the Snow Queen riding down the street. She stepped gingerly onto the snow bank, sinking slightly as she spotted Ororo waiting for her.

The non-mansion people had been appalled when she'd shown up in a light jacket and no hat or scarf to speak of. But once she'd demonstrated what she could do they left her alone. Right now she didn't need to be weighed down by things she really didn't need. "Hey, Miss Munroe," she called out, voice raised to be heard over the wind.

Ororo was attired similarly to Angel; heavy jackets and boots really weren't necessary for her either. And frankly, there were more important things to be concentrating on than how one was dressed. She raised a hand, waving to Angel and walking towards her, stepping carefully on the drifts of snow, mindful of what might be buried beneath. "Hello, Angel. Are you well-rested?" What they were going to be doing was important work, but there was no point in attempting it if the girl wasn't up to it.

"Yes, ma'am. I got plenty of rest and totally astounded people back at base camp with how much I can eat." She grinned, reaching up to firmly secure her pony tail. "So I'm good to go." This was different from the volcano. This was her second time, she had more footing on what to do and she was going to be able to use her powers. As dire as the situation could be, she was looking forward to being able to do something like this. "They said something about the roads and clearing them?"

With a smile, Ororo nodded, turning to survey the endless field of white in front of them. "Yes. They need to get the emergency vehicles into some of the more blocked-off parts of the city. I thought that you and I would be a good team to clear off the roads for their passage."

"Ohh, now that makes sense. I'll make it all melt-y and you can move it with winds and such, right?" Hands on her hips, Angel started to gingerly walk around. "I guess the first thing to do is...what? Find a good starting point?"

"Yes. I believe the road is near here..." Ororo summoned a wind as she spoke, and the snow around them began to shift and eddy as she tried to see what was beneath it. "We should stick to that as much as we can. Obviously, this will be easier once you melt the snow. It will not be simply shifting it around."

"Where to start..." She glanced at what she thought was the side of the road and headed towards it. "Now that spot over theeeeere..." There was a shriek and a flumping noise as Angel stepped down on a spot and much to her surprise, kept going. Snow was kicked up in the air as she flailed around, stopping when she realized that she was standing as near as she could on actual ground.

With only the tip of her head showing from the hole, she sighed. "Miss Munroe? I think I've found the good starting point, you know? Oh man, I've got snow in my britches."

Ororo gave a laugh, letting the winds die down as she gingerly approached the spot where Angel had stood not too long before. "I was not aware disappearing counted among your abilities," she said, peering down at the girl from a safe distance away. "Do you think you can begin melting the snow around you?"

Angel looked back up at Ororo mournfully. "I hope so or else I'll be stuck in a hole until spring." Not that her teacher would let something like that happen. But...she got the idea that the older woman had a good sense of humor and the last thing she wanted was pictures of this to somehow get around. The familiar sheen of blue crackled to life around her and, like she'd been taught, pushed it out, towards the snow. With the amount and how cold it was, it took some effort but she soon saw the snow start to be less compact around her.

"Very good, Angel." As the snow began to melt a small breeze began to push at it, funneling it away from where Angel stood until it pooled in steaming puddles nearby. It was slow work at first, but eventually the warming snow began to melt other snow, and it led to a cascading effect until a good-sized patch of asphalt was visible.

"Wow, we rock." Rubbing the back of her neck, Angel walked further out onto the road, pleased with what they had done. And she was no longer in a hole, which was even better. But she could understand why Miss Munroe had asked her if she was up to it, it was kind of tiring. Though she wasn't done yet! "I'm ready for more if you are," she said. "How much do you think we have to do?"

"I think if we can clear the worst of the drifts from this area the rest will be removable easily enough with the winds," Ororo replied. She gave Angel a scrutinizing look, double-checking that she seemed up to the task. "We will attempt only what is within your limits - there is no need to push yourself too far."

With a grin, Angel pulled out a slightly squashed energy bar from her pocket. "They wouldn't let me bring a Red Bull," she pouted. "But I think we'll be good if I take a break now and then. I don't want you to have to carry my unconscious body back to base camp. I'd never hear the end of it."

"I think it has something to do with the irony of a rescue and relief worker needing, well, rescue and relief." Laughing, Ororo looked up at the sky, gaging the likelihood of having more snow dumped on them; luckily, it didn't seem as if that would be a problem.

Angel followed where her teacher was looking and then glanced back. "Can you feel, you know, the weather?" she asked curious. "Like it was going to snow again, would you know that automatically?"

"Unless there was something truly amiss, yes. I can generally sense weather patterns and disturbances before they happen, at least in the general vicinity of where I am."

"Now that's just awesome." Angel stuck out a hand and tested the depth of the snow next to her, bleching when some of it got stuck in her sleeve. "And probably way distracting when you first got your powers. I think I'd totally be all migraine city."

"Every mutation comes with its own set of challenges," Ororo replied serenely. "We do the best we can. I am only glad that the school exists to help young mutants learn to control and embrace their gifts. A little guidance can go a long way to smoothing the transition, I have found."

"It really does," she responded, sending out another wave of microwaves to help start the snow melting again. "I mean, I'm totally grateful I have this place to learn. I guess I woulda figured it out on my own but not without a lot of trial and error. And, in my case, error equals property damage."

"Always a good thing to avoid." Ororo turned her concentration towards sweeping the roads clean of the melted snow, knowing that the thinnest layer left over would re-freeze into a treacherous layer of ice if they weren't careful. There were residential areas in front of them that needed rescue workers to repair broken plumbing, dig out cars, transport supplies, but ice was just as dangerous as snow, if not moreso. "You are doing very well, Angel," she commented as the girl made short work of another deep drift.

"Thanks, Miss Munroe," Angel responded, wiping loose strands of hair out of her eyes. "We work well together, I think." She grinned. "And I'm glad I'm able to help like this, even if it is a bit more tiring than I thought it was going to be. But I'm good for a bit longer, I promise!"




A little while later, back at base camp, Angel finds Marius feeling a little bit odd man out. She surprises him with an offer to help get him into the thick of things while she takes a bit of a break.



After reassuring Miss Munroe that she was fine--just tired--and eating enough to get a round of applause from the startled workers around her, Angel wandered back outside. It took her a few minutes to find a patch of snow that didn't have people milling about it but when she did, she immediately sat down. After a second, she sat up and shoved her jacket under her butt. She might not feel the cold but she did feel the wet start to seep into the back of her pants. And she was too tired to think she could dry herself off without igniting something else on fire.

An insulated blanket draped around her shoulders, and behind her a familiar voice said, "Well now. That would be the look of one grown weary with performing acts of selfless good." A hand cuffed by an Xavier's jacket held out a covered styrofoam cup to her as Marius drew into view. "Hence: spontaneous cocoa."

Angel grinned as she took the offered cocoa from her friend. "Spontaneous cocoa. Now there's a power for ya. It comes in really handy during the winter time but, well, not so much during the summer you know?" Taking a sip, she hummed in appreciation. "What have they been using you for today?"

"Nothing of note, which I must find an appalling waste of glorious resource." The Australian sighed and dropped down beside her, balancing a cup of his own in his other hand. "My day has been the passing of blankets, food, an' other such sundries. My talents pass unrecognized. I believe my lack of medical or disaster training creates unfair bias. Oh, an' the rather circumstantially worthless mutation. I believe that is something of a strike."

Both eyebrows climbed as she took another drink before gently jostling his shoulder with hers. "Seating pity party, party of one, right this way sir," Angel teased, nudging some hair from her eyes. "Yeah, you might want to get in on that whole "training" aspect thing. I heard it does wonders, yeah? But you don't have useless powers. I was doing what you're doing my first time out so no getting your panties in a bunch."

Marius grinned. "Ah, it is a hazard of livin' with the useful. Examples such as Forge's chronic busyness can put those of us with the less apparent mutations into a bit of a complex. The harrowing tale of Jennie's rescue efforts, too, has brought it fresh to my mind. The eminent suitability of you and our headmistress's skills as well. At the moment I just feel at loose ends. Mine is a mutation rather difficult to apply with pure benevolence." And that, perhaps, was the problem. Now that he thought about it, had his power ever done anyone any good?

Once. Just the once. And now that situation was unlikely to repeat.

The boy gave his head a rueful shake and grinned at Angel, raising his cup to his lips. "Ah, sorry, was that a hint of insecurity? I am flush with shame. Thought invariably leads to self-reflection, which is of course why it should be utterly drowned at every turn."

"Shallow is so the new black this year." Angel barely managed to keep a straight face. After all, they had been honing her ability of blurting things out for the "greater good". What fun was it when you couldn't needle your teachers? "And your power has plenty of uses, ya just got to stop and think about it." Reaching up, she knocked him gently on the side of the head.

"I mean, you could always ask a certain person sitting to your left--who is exhausted but still wants to help--if you can get like a quickie of their power, now how's that for brilliance?"

"Eh . . ." Marius blinked, momentarily nonplussed by the offer. Borrow? Ask someone if he could borrow?

He knew he could do it. In fact, where Angel was concerned there was a ruined pair of sweats that could attest to such. Some cautious sessions with Charles with their not so subtle emphasis on controlling accidentally gleaned psi, too, supported this. But . . . taking powers . . .

He remembered Yvette's blank face as she lay on the dirty floor of her cell in France, and blood welling on his hands.

But then, what Angel was offering was freely given. And life does go on.

Marius smiled. "Well. It would be rather more useful than whinging. Which I heartily approve of, as there are by far enough comparisons to one of my last flatmates as there is. An' I do not have the excuse of bein' an artiste." He tugged off a glove and held out a scarred hand. "Goes by direct use these days, so in your case probably to the skin. Be gentle with the necessary burning, if you would. I rather fancy this coat."

"Now there's the spirit. And where there's fire there's...apparently more fire." Wiggling out of the blanket, Angel set her cup of hot chocolate on the ground before reaching out her hand to his. She'd come a long way from the first time they'd done this, blushing at every look or touch from any guy but especially him. Now, she just gave him a merry grin and entwined her fingers with his.

The fire was stoked on the inside, coaxed to come out to their joined hands...carefully. Because that was a pretty nice coat. But soon a flush of blue fire spread from one hand to the other.

Julio was concentrating solely on making his legs work, on the way back to the tents where the food was. He wanted something hot to drink, and a nap. In deference to all the work he was doing, using his powers to shove large masses of snow around all day, that even with the temperatures hovering in the single digits he was drenched in sweat. He glanced at the crowd before ducking into the tent, and upon spying Angel and Marius, halted in his tracks.

At any other time, the sight of his girlfriend holding hands with his absurdly charming suitemate would have done more than make Julio pause, point, and scratch his head in confusion. However, upon seeing the flames leap from Angel's hand's to Marius', Julio merely shrugged and ducked inside the tent for some coffee. It was probably powers related, and he would ask Angel if he needed to hit Marius with a chair later.