News (open)

[Deleted]

Kiara walked in from the kitchen, having finished cooking a small breakfast of bacon and eggs. She left the extra bacon out, knowing that there was a certain someone who preferred meat. She'd left it in the microwave, though. A habit she'd started as a little kid when they'd had a cat that would eat any meat that was left where it could get it. She even stuck a note on the fridge. She didn't know his real name, but she'd learned his code name from that Lycan girl.

Wolverine,
I cooked breakfast for myself. The extra bacon's in the microwave if you want it.
Nova

Kiara had even washed her dishes and put them away when she was done. Then she had decided to check the news. Since she'd gotten out of the med lab, she had been a bit detached from he outside world. She turned on the tv, then changed to a news channel. She didn't pay much attention to the weather. All she needed to know was how cold it was going to be the next day. She really needed to get out and find a new winter coat, now that she lived somewhere that got snow every winter. She zoned out when the commercials started to play.

She saw an old commercial from a few months before the fire. It was her and her sister. What had the point of that one been? Oh yeah. Kiara had been asked to do the commercial, but had said that she wouldn't do it without her sister.

Her attention was brought back to the land of the present when she saw her sister's picture on the news. Sports. Of course Kiana would be a sports headline. But why in the national news? She got her answer a few moments later.

"My mother gave me this pendant," came Kiana's voice. She held it up. It was a gold chain with a silver heart, almost exactly like Kiara's. "She said that it had been given to her when she was about our age." The broadcast cut to the reporter.

"After receiving word that her twin sister has moved to New York to live with her uncle, sports star Kiana Smith had this to say."

The broadcast cut back to Kiana. The only difference between the twins was hair length. Kiana's only went down to her shoulders. "Oh, I'll find a way to get there," she said. There was a date on the bottom of the picture. It was dated two days after Kiara had come to the X-Manor. "I don't care what my foster parents think. I'm going to find a way to get to my sister."

The next scene showed a reporter standing in front of an airport. "Just yesterday, I asked Kiana if she was any closer to being able to travel to Bayville, and she had this to say."

"I'm going," Kiana said. "I've gotten permission from my foster parents and everything. Once school lets out for winter break, I'm catching the first flight to Bayville." The broadcast switched to something completely unrelated, but Kiara stared at the screen a moment longer.

"Kiana's going to come here?" she said quietly. She smiled widely. "Awesome!" She stood up and looked toward the door, her pendant grasped in her hand. "This is gonna be so cool!"

[Wolverine]

Wolverine's day was going as it normally did. Normal as in it being a very hectic day, with him having to deal with students, missions, and getting caught every time he tried smoking a cigar inside the mansion. He had decided to get away from the halls and the crowds of students by going into the living room. At that time the halls were packed with people, so he figured nobody would be in the living room. There usually were students or staff in the living room, but it seemed as everyone was getting ready for their next classes to start. Before Wolverine went towards the living room though, he had to stop at the kitchen. Whenever he got a chance to steal food from the kitchen, he did. Usually he would just randomly grab anything that smelled decent from the fridge, no matter whose it was. This time though, as he walked into the kitchen (immediately being able to smell that bacon had been cooked recently) there was something waiting for him. He spotted the note on the microwave, so he opened up the microwave and automatically took the pieces of bacon.

Note or no note, he still would have stolen the bacon. He grunted when he saw the name on the note. Nova. He tossed the note on the floor, and began eating the bacon as he headed into the living room. It seemed the bacon was still fresh as it was still warm, and the kid who had made it was in the living room. He caught about a minute of the news, even though it bored him. He was about to turn away, hoping Kiara wouldn't notice he had been there, when she stood up and looked his way. "Ah great" he said, wishing he had left sooner. He put the rest of the bacon into his mouth, and ate it. "You shoulda made more" He said. He reached into his pocket for his cigar and pulled it out, but then remembered that Kiara was allergic to smoke. "Damnit" He said as he put the cigar back into his pocket. "What's gonna be so cool?" Wolverine asked, hoping he wouldn't regret asking her that. She seemed to always be talking to herself. Now that she was out and about though, she looked much better than she did the last time he saw her. "You seem to be doing better" He said, casually.

[Deleted]

Kiara saw him after a moment. "I'll remember that next time," she said with a laugh. She was slowly becoming more comfortable around him. Maybe one day he'd tell her his real name?

"My sister's got permission to come up here," Kiara explained. "She was put in a foster home after the fire, but her foster family was bound to find out about her powers." She sighed quietly. "Kiana's got powers like Ms. Jean's. But not as strong." She thought about it for a second. What if Kiana's powers had gotten stronger since the fire? What would happen then? That would take a bit of getting used to. Having her sister back by her side, though... That would be worth it. Always.

Kiara turned to look out the window. When would Kiana arrive? How much will she have changed? Not much, surely. One person can only change so much in a few months. Kiana was probably still the sports nut that she always was. Kiana... Life had been so different, so strange without her twin by her side.

Kiara nodded when he mentioned her health. "I bounce back pretty quick," she said with a smile. She had surprised herself with how quickly she'd gotten back in shape. Another day or two after she'd woken up and she'd been out of the med lab with the same warning that the man before her had said. Don't overload your powers again. It was almost as if they'd thought she'd overloaded on purpose.

She looked back at the television. What was up now? Kiara's mind went blank. The fire. They were showing footage of the fire. She had assumed that the next part of the broadcast would be unrelated... Not this time... She found herself looking away, eyes closed, while the announcer said something about how the girls had seen little of each other since that day. How Kiara had remained off the radar since she was discharged from the hospital after completing therapy for the back injuries. How Kiana was the only one who escaped uninjured. Kiara looked back at the television in time to see a shot of herself in the garden outside the hospital. When had that shot been taken? Certainly not one she knew about. She had done her best to keep the press from catching her in a wheelchair... Not good enough, apparently. The shot was up for only a few moments. Then Kiara managed to find the remote and hit the power button, shutting off the television.

[Wolverine]

Wolverine just grunted when Kiara said she would remember for next time. The little bit of bacon had just been a tease. She then told Wolverine that her sister was going to come to the manor. Only, she didn't say it that simple. She rambled on about it. "Sorry I asked" Wolverine mumbled. He looked around the room while waiting for her to finish. "She talk like you?" Wolverine asked. He had a hard enough time dealing with one Kiara, he couldn't imagine having two of them at the manor. He put a note in his head to try and avoid them in the future. He then nodded when Kiara said she bounced back quick. "I see" was all he said to that. Wolverine looked at Kiara and he noticed how she stared at the tv. He looked at the tv and figured what was on it had something to do with her. It was none of his business though, so he didn't say anything about it. When Kiara turned off the tv, Wolverine walked by her, stole the remote from her hand, then sat down in a recliner. He reclined it, putting his feet up, then turned the tv back on and started flipping through channels. "There's never anything good on" he grumbled.

[Deleted]

Kiara noted his comment about how she speaks. "Kiana's way more likely to attack you," she said with a light laugh. "She doesn't like people who try to seem rude. Especially when they are." She walked over to the window after he took the remote. "Well, it is a school day for normal people," she said quietly. She looked out the window, unable to put the image of herself in a wheelchair from her mind. Those months had been the hardest of her life... She'd gone through both physical and mental therapy without complaining in order to get her legs back... The burns had left a huge scar, even after the two months of hydrotherapy. The pain when she'd first started moving her legs again was unbearable... Just the memory of it made her cringe. Her sister hadn't suffered that... And Kiara was glad. No one should have to suffer that pain...

She glanced back at the tv, watching as he flipped the channels. She caught the same picture of herself in the wheelchair on more than a few other news networks. "And when I tried so hard to keep them from seeing me like that..." she said quietly, her voice tinted with pain and... something else... Something between anger and disappointment. "At least my sister won't judge me..." She looked at Wolverine. "I... I want to know... No... Better not to ask..." She turned back to the window. Why do you pretend not to care? she wondered. After all, he had visited her in the med lab when she had overloaded... He couldn't be completely hard-hearted... Right?

[Wolverine]

Wolverine raised an eyebrow when Kiara said her sister was most likely to attack him because she did not like anyone who seemed rude, or was rude. "I will keep that in mind" Wolverine said, even though he knew if Kiara's sister attacked him or pissed him off in any other way he would easily toss her out a window. Kiara walked to the window and Wolverine paid little attention to her as he flipped through the channels trying to find something good to watch. Wolverine looked up when Kiara mumbled something. "See you like what?" Wolverine said. His ability to hear so well was an advantage sometimes, but when around Kiara it wasn't. It seemed she was always mumbling or whispering something and unfortunately Wolverine always heard it, even if he never knew what she was talking about. Wolverine growled a little when Kiara started to ask him something but changed her mind. "Just spit it out will ya?" Wolverine said. It was very hard for him to be around Kiara because of how she talked, and how much she talked. For some reason though he kept bumping into her. Checking up on her was his fault, but meeting her in the living room was not on purpose.

[Deleted]

Kiara closed her eyes and looked away from the window. "I was stuck in a wheelchair from the day after the fire to a week before I came here!" she said, her voice laden with pain. "I know how Uncle Charles feels, being confined to a wheelchair." Except that he has his telepathy. I didn't even have my own sister.... she finished silently. Then she figured that he was talking about the sentence she'd decided against.

"Why do you have to be such a guy and pretend you don't care?" Kiara asked quietly. "Wanting to protect someone... Feeling sorry for someone else... It's not a weakness... It's our biggest strength." It's what separates us from the ancient rulers of the past. The ability to feel.