The Uncanny G-boys

[Author's Note: Strong language ahead! ^_^;; | And forgive me if at any time in these stories I mangle Gambit's accent. | Btw, the last section is on crack, sorry about that... ~_^;;; ]

The New Kid
by Shiri

The taxi came to a stop and a blond-haired boy of about fifteen years wearing jeans, a dark blue teeshirt, and a denim vest stepped out onto the brickwork driveway. His blue eyes immediately went up to study the front of the structure that housed Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. The sun shone down through the towering trees that surrounded the property, making the place seem almost...cozy. If he listened hard enough, he could hear the sound of children laughing. Then he heard the sound of his suitcase hitting the pavement. He turned to the impatient cabbie and gave a sheepish look while digging some money out of a pocket inside his vest.
After the taxi drove away he remained standing on the porch, hesitating. Finally he scolded himself and reached for the doorbell. Almost immediately it opened and a woman with darkly tanned skin and white hair poked her head out. She smiled warmly and opened the door all the way. She wore a taupe skirt and a white teeshirt with a line of small flowers around the collar. "Hello, may I help you?"

He tried to stammer a greeting but instead only nodded and then spent a few minutes searching his pockets for a small card, at last discovering it in his back pocket. He thrust it toward the woman, his hand shaking from nerves. She took it and flashed another smile in an attempt to be reassuring. "Oh, a new student. Welcome, then, Mr. ... Winner." She looked at him sheepishly. "How do you pronounce your first name?"
"Katoru." Now it was his turn for a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, I get that a lot."
"Nice to meet you, Quatre. I'm Storm." She put out her hand to shake his. "Please follow me." He turned to get his suitcase but startled back when a breeze blew by, carrying it away for him. Storm chuckled and winked when he met her eyes. With a nervous smile he followed her down a hall that wouldn't be out of place in a mansion. This is a school? Quatre wondered to himself, gazing around and feeling impressed. He hadn't expected such pleasant surroundings to be provided for mutants...
Storm paused as a voice spoke up in her head. Storm, I need you in the 'gloved' room...you can bring the boy as well.
Yes, Professor, she answered. "Quatre?" She went over to where he stood at a window overlooking the basketball court.
"Sorry, ma'am." He blushed in embarrassment at having wandered away.
"Don't worry. We're going to take a detour to one of the classes. Just make sure you stay still and quiet so you don't disturb their concentration." She smiled and waved a hand toward a bend in the hall. "This way." He obediently followed her -- and his still floating suitcase -- around several bends before they stopped at a door with a sign beside it that read: "Gloved room. Beware of wild sparks." His suitcase settled with a small twirl on the far side of the door. "Remember, be quiet and don't worry about anything you see." He didn't have time to be puzzled before she slowly opened the door and they peeked in.
Four teenagers were ranged in a semi-circle opposite a man in a wheelchair. Quatre was amused at seeing why it was called the gloved room; all four had some form or another of gloves on. A girl with spiky black hair and a distinctive yellow jacket wore what seemed to be rubber gloves usually applied to washing dishes. The boy next to her had a brown braid falling to the middle of his back and he was dressed from head to toe in black, including black riding gloves. Spaced farther to the right was an auburn-haired girl in jeans and a brown shirt, the matching gloves going up past her elbows. And on the far right was a boy wearing black jeans and a blue teeshirt, his red hair bound up in a blue bandana. He had half-gloves, although his index and middle fingers on both hands were covered.
The man nodded toward the door. "Storm, an eye on the sparks, please."
"Right." She stepped into the room. Quatre hesitantly edged forward, and jumped when a sudden gust of wind blew the door closed. He glanced around in utter confusion -- the walls were lined with rubber. Lends new meaning to the term 'rubber room' he mused to himself, although he wasn't sure if he should find it funny or not, considering his situation.
The man looked to the boy on the right and inclined his head. "Gambit."
The boy smiled grimly and took from his pocket an object roughly the size and shape of a playing card. A yellow glow appeared around his forearm and flowed up into the card, which he then flung into the air. The girl in the yellow jacket raised her hands and a stream of multicolored sparks flew toward the card. It exploded harmlessly. "Now the special one." The man nodded again. The boy reached into his other pocket and held up a card apparently made of some metal. The yellow glow appeared again, and again the girl raised her hands just as Gambit threw the card. The sparks had no effect. A breeze sent the card swirling back around so she could try again.
The man glanced at the other boy. "Now, Duo." The braided boy hesitated, then placed his hands around the girl's wrists. The sparks abruptly grew brighter and thicker -- yet as they hit the card, its glow only increased. The man looked to the remaining student. "Rogue....concentrate now..." The girl had removed her gloves and now raised one hand, the other pointed toward the floor. She followed the card, beckoning slightly as if trying to call it to her.
Quatre involuntarily felt his mind being tugged toward her. He tried to focus on something else but her thoughts suddenly collided with his. Too afraid...c-can't do it... He felt a tightening in his stomach, of nerves -- she must have some power, to affect him like this! He gently prodded her mind to find out what, careful not to disturb her. Oh. She was supposed to absorb the energy from the card and send it harmlessly into the rubber floor. Relax, Rogue. You're too tense. You can do it. He spoke to her mind before realizing what he was doing. To himself he grimaced, Oops, I think that would have counted as keeping quiet.
But it seemed to work. The card was drawn to Rogue and the energy seeped into her hand, went up her arm, across her back, and through the other arm down into the floor, disappearing as it hit. Immediately afterward she whirled to stare at Quatre; he now saw that a streak of white accented the front of her hair.
Anything he was planning to say was cut off by the braided boy crying out. "Shit! That's the third pair this month!" Quatre looked over and stared wide-eyed at the smoking ruin that used to be the riding gloves.
"At least you didn't fry mine," the girl said with a small snicker.
"Duo," the man admonished sharply.
"Sorry, Prof. I'll go find a bar of soap now." The boy frowned and trudged past Storm to the door, rubbing his hands. Quatre saw that they weren't even burned.
"Class dismissed," the man called, shaking his head after Duo.
The red-haired boy quickly fell into step beside the jacketed girl. "Nice shootin', chere," he said in a thick New Orleans accent. Quatre was startled to see that his irises were as red as his hair, while the rest of his eyes was black. Then Quatre suddenly took great interest in the floor as Rogue walked by, trying desperately to avoid her gaze yet unable to help the blush that colored his entire face.
Quatre Winner. The boy immediately turned to the man after hearing his voice in his mind.
"P...Professor Xavier." Quatre easily found his name.
"Good." Xavier manuevered his wheelchair toward the door. "But tell me yourself why you came here."
The boy looked down as he wrung his hands nervously. "I -- I want to learn how to control my power...it tends to work by instinct, like just now...even if I'd rather stay silent. I...don't really like seeing into someone else's mind." He was glad the professor meant for him to speak aloud -- obviously Xavier could feel the boy's mind drawing itself toward his more powerful telepathic brain.
"Don't be ashamed of your lack of control. Such powers take getting used to. You will find all the help you need to achieve your goal here." Xavier smiled warmly.
For the first time since setting out on his journey to the school, Quatre felt genuinely confident about his decision to come there.

* * * * *

Math II at nine o'clock, Chemistry at nine fifty-five, Global Studies II at ten forty-five... Quatre studied the piece of paper in his hand, attempting to memorize his schedule as he meandered down a busy hallway right after the last class, his mind automatically guiding him around other students. It was working just fine, too, until he picked up on someone's thought and whirled around a second before the someone called out, "Hey, new kid!" The boy approaching him didn't seem to notice the quick reaction. Quatre attempted a smile -- he had only been there for three days and he was still nervous about talking with people. Then he recognized the boy from his first day -- Duo, the one with a dirty mouth. The boy was currently grinning in a pleasant manner, shifting a black bookbag over one shoulder.
Quatre was about to greet him when his mind caught another thought from behind him. He ducked just as a stream of ice water was sent his way -- it ended up hitting Duo in the face instead. Quatre stifled a laugh and turned to see who had the water pistol. He found a boy of Chinese descent in a dark aqua teeshirt and white pants, his hand posed like a gun, looking rather sheepish at that moment. Quatre blinked when he noticed the peach-hued starfish draped over the boy's left shoulder.
"Wufei!!" Duo sputtered, "What the H--"
"Plan go amiss?" A new voice asked. Quatre glanced over at a boy in jeans with a light denim jacket hanging open over a green shirt. He had a slightly amused look on his face as he turned to the blond boy. "Duo has a habit of playing tricks on all the new students. Just ignore him." Quatre read that he meant Duo wasn't singling him out personally.
"Sorry about that," Wufei offered with a weak grin. "It's just in fun, y'know?"
Duo suddenly shoved his way into the conversation. "Hey, be fair! There's just no ignoring me!" He chortled then put out a gloved hand to shake Quatre's. "Hi, I'm Duo Maxwell! You can call me Shinigami. I kill stuff."
Quatre would have drawn back if he hadn't already gotten pulled into the braided boy's mind and read what he meant. Belatedly the third boy leaned close and whispered, "His power jolt is usually too much for a normal living creature to handle. Don't let his cheerful exterior fool you -- he isn't actually proud of it." Quatre nodded politely.
Duo, oblivious to the added comments, moved to clap the Chinese boy on the back. "This is Wufei Chang. He can control all forms of water. And this..." He peeled the starfish off Wufei's shoulder and held it out to Quatre.. "...is Nataku, his special friend!"
"Maxwell!!" A dark raincloud suddenly swirled into existance over Wufei's head, spitting out hailstones only at Duo. Wufei snatched the starfish back just as the cloud began raining hail on everyone. As soon as he set it back on his shoulder the cloud disappeared. Wufei sighed then explained to Quatre, "It's actually a device to stop that from happening. It only looks life-like."
Again Quatre nodded, absently brushing tiny hailstones off his vest. Duo snickered. "You still gave it a name." A glare was thrown his way but he avoided it by ducking over to the third boy. "This is Heero Yuy. He has really cool healing powers that he can use on anyone." Duo moved closer and added none-too-quietly, "He can also fly, but he doesn't want anyone to know." He backed away grinning. Quatre met Heero's gaze and the latter rolled his eyes. The blond boy smiled knowingly.
"And this is Trowa Barton. He can turn invisible, as he so skillfully demonstrated a moment ago."
Quatre gave a start as he turned around -- he hadn't sensed a fourth presence. The tall boy in white-washed jeans and turquoise turtleneck looked back at him indifferently from under a cascade of light brown hair. Quatre smiled shyly; no one had ever avoided his alert mind before. It wasn't even the invisibility, for even now he couldn't find a single thought from the other boy.
Duo started in again. "We're just one happy gang of freaks! You should hang out with us sometime."
Quatre shot a glance at him as if questioning his sincerity. But then Trowa spoke quietly, "What he means is, he'll follow you around and bother you until you become as cheerful as he is."
Heero rolled his eyes again. "Yeah -- Trowa and I have yet to shake him."
"Aw, you guys are no fun." Duo scowled.
Trowa turned to leave. "Which is why you harass us all the time, right?"
"Not my fault you guys are as boring as--" Duo's attention abruptly went down the hall. "Uh-oh! Biatch alert!" He dropped to one knee and started rifling through his bookbag. Heero also knelt to busily tie his already perfect shoelaces. Wufei took out a notepad and called Quatre's attention to it. There was nothing on the page but the blond boy knew he was supposed to play along. He wanted to see why exactly Duo thought the situation called for a curse, but all of a sudden something blocked his probing mind. In fact, he couldn't read any other thoughts, even with Wufei so close. Then he was assaulted by a feeling akin to a normal person breathing in heavy perfume. He discreetly looked from the corner of his eyes to glimpse the figure that was causing such a disturbance; the lithe form of a girl with blond hair past her waist wearing a mini-teeshirt and...an incredibly short skirt. Her eyes were narrowed smugly as other students took pains to avoid her. After she rounded the bend Quatre felt his mind be freed yet he was momentarily disoriented by the flood of relieved thoughts from the others.
Duo hopped up and made an absurdly disgusted face. "Ain't that a real freak? I mean, man, did you see her eyebrows?! That's one of the scariest things I've ever seen, and, believe me, I've seen a lot!"
Wufei put away the notepad. "She's one of the few snobs here. It's a general rule here that all mutants should work together, but she's so stuck on her power that she thinks she's better than us."
Heero felt obliged to explain, "She can create a sort of mind barrier and scramble people's thought processes. The Professor made the headband she wears to keep her in check, but it still isn't a good idea to cross her."
Duo sneered. "Dorothy Catalonia -- thinks she can screw up the whole damn world." Quatre frowned and rubbed his left temple in an attempt to massage away the budding headache the girl's touch had left in his mind -- apparently he was more susceptible even with her power hampered. Well, that was just dandy... "Hey, we haven't caught your name yet!" Duo bounced a bit, a wide grin replacing the sneer.
"Quatre Winner." He bowed his head politely.
"Cool. So, what do you do?" The braided boy stopped bouncing when Heero shot a death glare at him.
Quatre smiled wryly. "I intrude in other people's minds -- but I'm nice about it."
"Like the Prof. Cool."
The blond boy was greatly relieved to see, plain on their faces, that none of them held the power against him. Well, save for Trowa, whose expression was completely blank. But he assumed the taller boy felt the same as his friends; Trowa could even be aware that telepaths couldn't reach his thoughts.
Then Wufei clapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, how about you meet us for lunch tomorrow, we can talk some more. We have a basketball game to go to now."
"Sure, thanks." A broad smile took over Quatre's face.
"See you then." The four headed off down the hallway. Quatre hefted his bookbag onto his shoulder and watched them for a moment, feeling content inside after having been accepted by potential new friends. The last he saw was Duo bouncing up and down crowing, "We're gonna kick some ass!!"
Quatre chuckled. This was certainly going to be an interesting -- and likely never dull -- school year.

* * * * *

The next morning he found out that Trowa was in his Math class -- sitting at the desk farthest from everyone else. Quatre tried to meet his gaze to offer a greeting, but the other boy seemed intent on ignoring the world. Quatre gave up when the start bell rang but snuck glances at him occasionally -- and then more frequently when he noticed Trowa kept phasing out of clear view. One time he was a mere outline. I bet that's handy for a pop quiz, Quatre thought to himself with a chuckle, then finally put all his attention on the jumble of algebra taking shape on the blackboard.
He didn't see the other boys for the rest of the morning. About midway through the class right before lunch, Literature, the classroom door opened and a girl walked in. Her heels clicked as she moved to hand the teacher a note. "I just transferred to this period," she announced in a thin voice, just to make sure everyone had noticed her. Quatre only noticed a growing headache, but glanced up when something practically yanked his mind forward. He ended up meeting the smug leer resting upon the face of the girl Dorothy who everyone disliked so much. He also got an eyeful of her skirt when she hopped over the chair two places ahead of him to get to the row on his right. Despite that she sat one desk ahead, she snuck a glance at him and then sniggering turned to her notebook.
Peachy. She knew he was a telepath. Usually he wouldn't worry since he had found only other telepaths could speak back to him as opposed to him picking up another's thoughts. However, Dorothy was emitting that perfume-like energy again and he had the distinct feeling that he was being drawn into a trap. Proof came when little whispers began permeating his mind. Someone wanted to hold him and touch him and tangle her fingers in his perfect blond hair and kiss him and...oh dear. He fought to create his own mental barrier and also not show any worry outwardly. He could feel Dorothy's mischievous gaze on him before she went back to pretending to listen to the lesson.
Quatre completed the barrier and felt her annoyance. Energy poked his mind, finding a weak spot. At that second he managed to catch one of her half-formed thoughts and before she could complete it and throw it at him he sealed the barrier. Then he focused on strengthening it so she couldn't get past again. Pain swelled on the left side of his head. He attempted to focus on the rest of class, slumping weakly in relief when the bell finally rang. He chased off the shreds of the last thought he had taken from Dorothy -- but a tiny thought was better than the full image she had been about to force on him.
The classroom was empty by the time he lurched to his feet. He hadn't created mind barriers often and the effort left him a bit dizzy. Quatre sighed as he plodded his way out the door. She had better not try that again or else I'll report her to the professor...
He walked right into a veritable cloud of intoxicating energy. Dorothy had been lying in wait just outside. His barrier still held, though. She grabbed the collar of his shirt. "You're no fun, you know that?" She released him then ran one finger along the edge of his vest. "I'm just testing you," she purred. "Can't you handle a little teasing..?" He closed his eyes as her hand went lower. He swallowed hard and concentrated. Dorothy...take a long walk in the garden...it's relaxing.....
Her hand drew away. He opened his eyes to see her turning around. "I'm going for a walk now. I'll see you later, Quatre..."
He sighed loudly in relief then turned to make himself scarce. Her lingering power was giving him a migraine. Abruptly the pain ebbed only to be replaced by a barrage of hissing. Kiss, hug, touch, want you...want you... He hastily ripped the thoughts from his mind and mentally flung them into the garbage pail he was passing by.
Yep, this was going to be an interesting school year...


End~(for now)




Back to the Uncanny G-boys




(c) 2000-2004 Autumn Loweck. This work may not be copied, distributed, or reprinted without the author's permission. Characters of Quatre, Duo, Wufei, Heero, Trowa, and Dorothy belong to the creators of the GundamWing series, Sotsu Agency, Sunrise, Bandai, and whoever else in Japan involved in this most cool anime. Storm, Professor Xavier, Rogue, Gambit, and Jubilee belong to Marvel Comics, FOX, and all those other cool people who created the X-Men.

Back to TSC's SubBasement