Overloaded (open)

[Deleted]

Jonathan smiled a bit when Kiara said she was going to go with “Johnny.” However, she had said it so quietly that Jonathan was a bit worried about her. When she said she was still a bit sore, he said “Well, you’ve been unconscious for four days, and in bed, so you probably will be a bit stiff. But, you will probably feel a lot better and your absorptions limits may have even increased due to the amount of energy you absorbed.” Something was worrying Jonathan a bit. She seemed more quiet then she had been a few minutes ago, and that was what was worrying him the most.

When Kiara talked about her twin, Jonathan realized how much he had always wanted a little sibling. But, he couldn’t have a little brother or sister, because of the complications his mother had with his birth. When she finished talking about her sister, Jonathan smiled at her a little bit and he said “It must be scary. But, I have no idea what it is like to have a younger, older or even twin sibling. I’m not complaining, I’m just saying, I never knew what it was like, and I do wish I had understood. And I want you to know something. You and your sister are both becoming very famous and all that. And thats great. But, I think that you should also be happy for her, and tryh and see her other ways, such as trying to call each other, or speak to each other over web-chatting. Don't feel sad Kiara. We wll try and get you to speak to her again.” Taking her hand in both of his, he said “We can try and figure out a way your sister can see the concert from backstage.”

[Deleted]

Kiara nodded. "Honestly, if her powers get any stronger, she may end up having no choice but to come here," she said with a laugh. "She's a telepath. A lot like Jean Grey, actually. Not as strong, mind you. It kinda seems like that though. I remember one night when she infiltrated my dreams. That was the night her powers manifested. But she doesn't like using her telepathy." She laughed again. "She's a more in your face kind of person. Much more to the point with strangers, and a lot more likely to throw a punch. But since she started sports, she's had a way to focus that energy in a constructive way. She's been the star on the team since sixth grade. Too bad her powers aren't strong enough to reach all the way here from Crystal Springs." She laughed again, for longer this time.

"There was one time when she lost control and sent dinner flying out the window," she remembered. "That one was hilarious! At least, until it landed on the neighbor's dog." She sat back, a smile on her face. "It would be awesome if she could come here. As long as she doesn't invade my mind too often."

[Deleted]

Jonathan listened to her talk about her sisters powers. Apparantly, she was a telepathic and a telekinetic, like Jean Grey, but not as powerful. Nodding, he said “So, she’s less powerful than Professor Xavier and Jean. Well, at least she isn’t completly powerful. Though, we could be in trouble if her mind could reach all the way here. No telepath has a world wide radius, or even a cross-country radius for their telepathic powers. And she went into your dream? Wow. That must have been extremly odd and disorientating for you.” Jonathan kept her hand in his and his other hand was close to their held hands.

When she mentioned the story about her sister losing control, and the dinner flying out of the window, Jonathan laughed. It was a hilarious story. When she said it would be awesome if her sister came here, Jonathan smiled at her and said “Well, maybe your sister should come here sometime. It would be interesting to see how alike you two are. Though, I think I might always prefer you Kiara.” Smiling at her, he once again leaned forward and gently kissed her on the lips. However, he kept this kiss up for more than a few seconds, but he kept it gentle.

[Deleted]

Kiara nodded when Jonathan said he'd like to meet Kiana. "Well, Kiana's got shorter hair," she said. "Despite being twins, we're easy to tell apart because of that." She smiled when he said he'd prefer her to her sister. "You're sweet," she said. When he kissed her, she went with it, sliding her free hand between his free arm and his chest, resting it on her back. She broke away after a few moments, her cheeks flushed. My first boyfriend... My first kiss... I hope he'll be my only boyfriend, she prayed silently. She looked at the clock on the wall, then gasped quietly.

"You should be in class!" she told him. She sighed, but it was a happy sigh. "Go to class. Tell them all that I'm fine. I should be back in class in a few more days. Once Jean checks me over." She laughed quietly. Everyone knew Jean Grey was basically the school medic. Kiara popped a quick kiss on Jonathan's cheek. "Don't skip class just for me. I want you to graduate with your class. Now go on. I'll be fine for the few hours left until dinner."

[Deleted]

The kiss was tender and sweet, and Jonathan was happy that his first kiss was with her. Being with Kiara made him feel a lot happier and less uneasy than he usually felt. However, time had flown by, and Jonathan had completly forgotten about class. Glancing at the clock, he saw that Kiara was right. Looking at her, he said “Being with you, it makes me forget about things like class. That’s how much I enjoy being with you Kiara.” Smiling, he thought She’s my first girlfriend, and my first kiss. I hope we last forever.

Nodding, and blushing a bit when Kiara kissed his cheek, Jonathan kissed her forehead and gave her a quick and gentle hug. He said “I’ll come back in a bit, after class.” Smiling at her, he said “I’ll see you in a bit Kiara.” He then left the medical lab, and turned towards the stairs. Quickly running towards them, he ran up the stairs quickly. He had to get to his room first, so he could grab his books. Using his enhanced speed, he quickly reached his room within seven minutes. He grabbed his books and hurried to class, hoping Kiara would be ok.

[Deleted]

Kiara watched him leave, listening to him run up the stairs. She closed her eyes, smiling. He's so sweet, she said to herself. He's a bit strange, that's true, but... What does it matter? He likes me. I like him. That's all that we need to worry about. She felt herself slowly falling asleep. She opened her eyes again and reached for the pack of cards that was on the table. She pulled the tray over and started to play solitaire. She dealt out five rows of cards, then put the rest of the deck aside. She liked playing three card draw. It presented more of a challenge. She didn't look up when the door opened again.

"I thought you went to class?" she asked, assuming it was Jonathan. Then she looked up and saw who it was. Her face flushed with embarrassment. "Sorry," she said quickly. "I thought Jonathan had come back after I told him to go to class." She looked back at the cards.

[Wolverine]

Wolverine didn't have a very busy day planned that day. It seemed like it was going to be fairly normal. Not that any of his days were normal. He was a mutant hanging out at a mutant school, so nothing was ever normal. He did seem to have a routine though. It always started with him getting out of bed (this certain day he woke up towards the afternoon as he had been up all night), taking a shower, then heading towards the kitchen. Usually it was when he walked into the kitchen was when his mood turned worse. There never seemed to be any food around (or any food that Wolverine felt like eating). When he woke up he never really felt like cooking. Normally he would just grab something in the fridge, anything, even if it was marked with someone elses names. That day was no different as he grabbed a random sandwich from the fridge, and walked out. He unwrapped it (tossing the wrapper at a nearby student) and began munching on it. He thought about having a cigar, but decided to wait until he was out of the halls for that.

Wolverine didn't have anything planned right yet, and he knew he was going to get bored quick. He had heard a student was at the medical labs (something that seemed to happen a lot). Normally he didn't check up on kids that were there, but be had met this certain student before and figured it wouldn't hurt to see if she was doing alright. He had heard she had been there for a few days due to an overload of her power, so she must have been hurt pretty bad. "Yeah, guess it won't hurt to check in on her" Wolverine said to himself.

As he walked towards the medical labs he finished his sandwich, and put a cigar in his mouth. The professor wasn't around, and he figured it wouldn't bother anyone if he smoked while he walked to the labs. He took a matchbook out of his pocket, lit the cigar, then shook the match and tossed it on the ground. He began puffing on the cigar as he got to the kids room. When Wolverine got near the kids room though, he saw a boy walk out the door, then run towards the stairs. Wolverine decided not to go after the boy as he didn't feel like finding a place for his cigar while he went after him, so he decided to remember the boys scent and deal with him later.

And as Wolverine didn't really have manners, he didn't bother knocking on the door. He just barged right in, not thinking that anyone inside might wonder why the hell he had just barged in like that. "I don't go to class" Wolverine responded to the girl as he blew smoke out into the room. "So that's the boys name. Jonathon" Wolverine said. He puffed more on his cigar, then leaned against the doorframe. "So what in the hell are you doing overloading you powers? Needed to show off that badly? You could have killed yourself" Wolverine said in a stern voice. It seemed that the kids were always trying to show off their powers, even when they couldn't full control them. "Damn kids" Wolverine said, shaking his head.

[Deleted]

Kiara looked away when he lectured her. She knew what he was saying was the truth. "I was trying to expand my limits," she said truthfully, quietly. "I was practicing with Scott on the grounds. I can absorb concussion beams to power up my own," she explained, remembering that she hadn't told the man about her powers. "I didn't mean to get so overloaded. It just kind of... happened." She left the cards out, not realizing that her notebook was open on the table next to the bed. "And the only time I show off is on stage for my fans," she said, her voice stronger all of a sudden. "If I showed off my powers, I would've passed out from exhaustion, not an overload. I'm a singer. I'm not stupid." She started packing up the cards, a small smile on her face. He's lecturing me... Maybe it's his way of showing that he cares?

"I realize now what could've happened," she said quietly. "And I will take more precautions next time. Now that I know what it feels like, I'll be able to recognize the start of an overload before I end up back here." She coughed quietly as the smoke reached her. "Just like the security detail," she muttered. Since the aftereffects of Jonathan's confession had started to fade, Kiara's face was starting to pale as the blush left her cheeks. "I really didn't mean to overload..." she said again. Then she realized that he had said Jonathan's name with some sort of undertone.

"Please don't bother him about this," Kiara said, turning quickly to him. "I was supposed to meet Jonathan in the garden at noon two days ago. That's why he was in here. He was just checking up on me and lost track of time." Her eyes shimmered with genuine concern about her new boyfriend. But this man, who's name she didn't know, didn't need to know what had happened between herself and Jonathan before he got there. "Please... Let him be..." She leaned back against the pillows propped up against the wall and closed her eyes for a moment. "I never want to feel this sore again..." she muttered.

[Wolverine]

"That explains it all" Wolverine said when Kiara mentioned Scott's name. He puffed more on his cigar as the kid rambled on. She seemed to do that a lot. "Oh. Right, your not stupid. Got it" Wolverine said, sarcastically. To him, any kid that purposely tried using their power too much was stupid. Especially when they ended up at the medical labs. Kiara then rambled on more about how she was going to be more careful. "Good" Wolverine said, blowing more smoke into the room.

Kiara then told Wolverine to leave the boy out of it, and Wolverine grunted at that. "So you haven't been here long, you overloaded your powers, and you already got a boyfriend, huh?" Wolverine said, being sarcastic again. He then shook his head. Kids were very annoying to him. Showing off their powers by trying to use them too much, and always trying to get a date were two of the reasons why Wolverine didn't like kids. That was only two reasons out of many though. They just plain annoyed him, and when Kiara rambled more about the boy, Wolverine wondered why he ever decided to check on her. She was obviously doing fine. "Yeah, we'll see" Wolverine said when she asked him to leave the boy be. He hadn't decided what he wanted to do with the boy yet. He figured someone would need to talk to him, especially since it was obvious him and Kiara were now going out.

"Alright, well I just came to see.. well, if you were still alive and stuff. From the amount of talking you've been doing I can see your alright" Wolverine said, puffing more on his cigar, and blowing more smoke into the room.

[Deleted]

Kiara looked away, eyes closed. "You'd think that, wouldn't you?" she said quietly when he said she looked fine. She felt a tear slip down her cheek, then wiped it away with her hand. She'd met her uncle once since she'd arrived. She'd already made a fool of herself in front of so many people... Of course, the news that she'd overloaded and passed out was probably all around the school by now. She must be so easy to read if he guessed that Jonathan was her boyfriend. "What's wrong with wanting to protect a friend?" she asked, coughing quietly from the smoke. "Why do you assume we're going out? He knows what it's like to have traumatic nightmares, that's all." She kept her eyes on the wall, away from the door. She just couldn't please this man... Could she? If he saw her tears, he'd call her weak. If she trains, he calls her stupid. What was it that this man wanted?

"What do you expect from me?" Kiara asked suddenly. "Why do you never seem satisfied?" She was spending less energy talking now. She wanted to ask another question, but thought better of it. Did something happen to you in the past that you just can't forget? She wanted to know, but realized now that it was better not to ask. Especially when this man was obviously not someone you wanted as an enemy. She tried to hold the tears from her voice, but was only partially successful. She coughed some more, the smoke from his cigar starting to make her feel strange.

"Can... Can you please put that out?" she asked quietly. She was overcome by another coughing fit, feeling her chest get tight. The heart monitor's beeping sped up. Was she allergic to the smoke? That must be the reason. After all, she didn't have asthma. She never had to deal with this before though. Her father had never smoked, even when his sister had a baby. He'd given out chocolate cigars that he'd found somewhere, but he'd never smoked real ones.

[Wolverine]

"Well you look fine to me" Wolverine grumbled. He figured he'd be able to tell that she was really hurt when she stopped talking for a while. But as she rambled on quite a bit, he was sure she was doing fine. Kiara seemed to be trying to hide the fact that she was crying, but she didn't hide it very well. Wolverine just shook his head, and decided not to say anything about it to her. It wasn't worth it. "It's obvious, that's all." was all Wolverine said when she spoke more of the boy, and had asked him why he assumed they were going out. Wolverine had been at the Xmanor for a while, definitely long enough to know how the students reacted. It was no secret that Kiara and the boy were going out. Wolverine figured he would just keep an eye on the boy, just in case the boy decided to do anything stupid. Wolverine hadn't known Kiara for long, and she was an annoying kid, but he obviously didn't hate her as he did take the time to check up on her.

Wolverine puffed more on his cigar, blowing more smoke into the room. He barely even noticed Kiara coughing from it because he was used to people coughing from his smoke. He never really paid attention to how his smoking effected other people. He just didn't think that way. Wolverine then raised his eyebrows at the kid, and laughed gruffly at her. "I expect you not to overload your powers again. And to watch yourself around that boy. Kids nowadays. Can't trust any of em" Wolverine said to her. He didn't get why she was making everything so personal. Wolverine acted pretty much the same way towards any other kid. Except he wouldn't bother to check up on every kid that landed at the medical labs.

Wolverine then immediately growled when Kiara asked him to put his cigar out. He purposely blew more smoke into the room. Everyone always told him to not smoke around them, but there was only person he listened to when it came to him smoking his cigars, and that was the Professor. But even then Wolverine always managed to sneak around and smoke in the manor even after the Professor told him not to. Wolverine did not like being told what to do. But when Kiara began coughing louder, and the heart monitors beeping became faster, Wolverine decided it was better if he didn't kill the kid. "I'm almost done with it anyways" He said stubbornly. He walked over to a neaby sink, tossed the cigar into it, and turned the water on. He then turned back towards Kiara. "You gonna make it?" he grumbled at her.

[Deleted]

Kiara's coughing quieted, then stopped. She was breathing fast, and she had gone pale. Her eyes were wide with fright, showing that she hadn't had that happen before. She tried to take a deep breath, but it hurt. She winced, one hand moving reflexively to her chest. Slowly, her breathing returned to normal. She nodded.

"I... I think I'm good..." she said quietly. She looked at her hands, which were visibly shaking. "That... That was almost as scary as the fire..." She laid back on the pillows, her long red hair fanning out on them. "I... I don't know what happened... Dad never smoked, and he never let anyone else smoke inside the house..." She looked over at him, realizing that he just had his own ways of showing that he cared. "I... I think it was an allergic reaction... I don't have asthma, so its the only reasonable explanation..." She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again.

"I'm sorry if I seemed nosy," she said. "I..." She shook her head. "I guess there's nothing else I can say... Except that... I don't want you as an enemy. You'd make an amazing ally, as well as a fearsome enemy... I'd rather have you as an ally than an enemy." She smiled slightly. Allies was the first step to... Well, maybe not friendship, but definitely some semblance of it. Teammates, at least. This man was strange, but he had his perks.

"If you don't like calling me by my name, you can always call me Nova," Kiara said to him. She looked away, the small smile still playing at her lips. She was about to say something else, then thought better of it. "You've already taught me to keep my mouth shut," she said with a laugh. "Something I should've learned a long time ago..." She looked back at him, some color returning to her face. "Thanks."

[Wolverine]

Wolverine watched at how the smoke effected Kiara. He wasn't too happy about having to trash his cigar. "You should have told me you were allergic to it" he grumbled at her. She then began rambling once again so he knew she was recovering from the reaction just fine. "And next time I'm smoking a cigar, stay away from me" Wolverine said. He then looked around the room, not having much else to do now that he didn't have a cigar to smoke. He decided to amuse himself with the machines near the girl, so he walked up near her, and began poking at the machines. While he did that the kid rambled on about not wanting him as an enemy. "I don't blame you. I wouldn't want me as an enemy either" he said as he pressed a button on one of the machines, having no idea what it did.

Kiara then told him that he could call her Nova. He pretty much just called her kid, as he did with all the kids. He had no need to call them by any of their names. She then told him he had already taught her to keep her mouth shut. Wolverine looked over at her. "Good" was all he said to that. He just hoped she would start shutting her mouth soon.

[Deleted]

When he commented that she should've said something about being allergic to smoke, she looked away. "I didn't know I was allergic to smoke..." she said quietly. A thought came to her mind. In the fire, she had felt almost the same way she had felt just now. Her chest had felt tight. At the time, she had been so focused on trying to get out that she hadn't really paid attention. Now... Had the reaction been why she hadn't gotten out before the beam had collapsed on her? She had been running slower after the house had caught fire... Her allergy must have been the reason... But... If so, how had Kiana remained unaffected? Kiara answered her own question. Her twin sister had gotten out of the house before the flames had left the kitchen. Kiana hadn't breathed in the smoke, so she hadn't experienced the negative reaction. "That must be why..." she whispered. She didn't realize she had spoken the thought aloud.

Then she remembered something else. When she had overloaded, she had fallen on her back. Then there had been what she assumed to be the sound of Scott's concussion beams hitting a nearby tree... Which had created a bit of smoke. She might not have passed out if it hadn't been for the smoke... If she had just used those few crucial moments to release the energy, then she might not have landed here...

"I've been blind to it..." Kiara said quietly. She looked over as the man neared her, walking toward the machines. She got her first good look at the man. His eyes were almost as dark as his hair. He was rather tall, but only a few inches taller than her. He seemed to be in his thirties, but acted like he had gone through much more than he should have. If his age matched his appearance, that is. His hands were somewhat larger than a normal man, but then again, you didn't come to the X-mansion if you were normal. She looked at the machine he was looking at, then saw that it wasn't on. Of course. There was no need to have every machine on when the only physical damage she had was an overload. It wasn't like she'd broken any bones or lost a serious amount of blood or had some serious illness or anything. Although... The reaction to the smoke would explain the oxygen machine hidden away in a corner of the room... She looked away, wondering again what this man had been through to cause him to be so closed-hearted, but knew better than to ask.

[Wolverine]

"Of course you didn't" Wolverine grunted when Kiara said she hadn't known that she was allergic to smoke. Of course she didn't. It would have been too easy for Wolverine as he would have just simply not gone near her, instead of having to put his cigar out. He hated wasting a good cigar. There had been a few good puffs left on it, and Wolverine enjoyed every puff of a cigar. Now that he had put it out, he wanted another one. He could have easily pulled another one out and lit it up, but as the kid had almost died twice already, once from the overload of her powers, the second due to the smoke, he didn't want her to almost die a third time before she became a full Xmen. He figured she had a while before she was a full Xmen, where the chances of dying are a lot greater due to having to be on missions all the time. "That must be why what?" Wolverine said half paying attention to her. Kiara had only whispered it but to Wolverine it was like her saying it out loud for him to hear.

The kid then spoke again, and Wolverine ignored it thinking she was just talking to herself. He figured she liked to ramble a lot so she must talk to herself when nobody was around her. He didn't mind as long as she didn't ramble to him. Wolverine noticed her looking at him, when he had gone near the machines to press buttons. "What the hell are you looking at?" He said although his attention was more turned onto the machines, as one of them lit up when he pressed the button. It didn't seem to do anything though, so he pressed the button again to turn it off. "Not much to do around here, huh?" He said. The room looked pretty boring and he couldn't imagine anyone having to be stuck in there all the time. It was starting to bug him as he was just standing around there. He had better things to do. "Well, it's time for me to go. Don't overload your powers again" Wolverine said as he started to head towards the door. As soon as he got close he put a cigar in his mouth, and lit it up. He couldn't wait any longer to puff on another cigar. He then opened the door, and walked out. He knew he would be seeing the kid again, but he didn't have a problem with that as long as she learned not to talk so much. Other than her rambling she actually seemed like a pretty decent kid. "I must be going soft" Wolverine then said as he walked away from the Medical Labs.