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Triumvirate Book 3 By Paradox Wolf Springs, Wyoming, McKinnon Residence The faint, haunting sound of Sarah McLaughlin's dulcet tones floated through the air as I slowly scrolled through the information displayed on the screen on my laptop. I know it sounds clich?, the angsty teenager listening to McLaughlin while pondering deep, world issues, but really I just liked some of her music. For me, it created a soothing kind of background noise that helped ease the world away just a little bit and allowed me to focus on what I now considered a very important task. Choosing a school. While Mom had suggested attending the local all-inclusive school when I first moved in with her, I could tell it was done out of consideration not to pressure me into choosing the more likely of institutions for mutant teens like me: Whateley Academy. While I had looked into it on occasion, meeting and befriending Aiden had made me wonder if a regular high school would be able to offer me the services I needed. This wasn't only speaking to my mutant power, though that was a significant factor. No, a bigger part was attending a school that was capable of coping with my own still largely out of control emotional issues. I didn't even really need to look into our local school, nor any other school in the country for that matter, to know that they lacked the staff or the necessary training to be able to deal with a frightened mutant girl with a history of severe physical and mental abuse by foster parents as well as torture by a crazy doctor and a rogue MCO agent. At the time, that left Whateley. According to their public website, they offered a full range of classes and services designed to both educate and train their students in the use of their mutant abilities while offering a very widespread student support system that included psychological assistance by highly trained and licensed practitioners. I was still more than a little leery about seeing a professional about my issues, the memories of torture by Doctor Taylor were simply still far too fresh, but I was self-aware enough to know that I would need to see someone about this sooner rather than later. By all accounts, Whateley seemed to have everything I could possibly want or need. Then I saw some of their requirements. It wasn't the education aspect or even the power training portion of the curriculum that bothered me. In fact, those aspects of it were actually quite inviting considering it would not only teach me how to better use my power, but it offered courses that lined up perfectly with my ultimate goal of going into medicine. The problem was with one of the other standard student requirements. Combat training. I didn't know about them at first until I talked about Whateley with Mom and that's when she mentioned the combat classes, the training teams, and the combat finals. Apparently, one staple of Whateley is that everyone has to take these classes and even form teams for the purposes of arena-style combat. If you didn't choose or form a team on your own, you were essentially forced into one of the school's choosing. Now I had always been against violence and my time in San Francisco with the Smiths and the MCO hadn't changed that. It would have been easy for me to come away from those experiences with the attitude that no one would ever hurt me again and I would be happy to use the reverse effect of my power and literally rip someone to pieces by turning a papercut into a flesh-tearing, nightmare-inducing experience. But that was exactly why I didn't do that, it would be so easy to do it terrified me. I'd always been a person who really abhorred violence in all of its forms. While I certainly understood it existed and even that it was necessary, I wouldn't even be there had it not been for Ashe's extremely violent intervention, I still avoided it at all costs. To me, committing violence against someone directly violated my basic principles of offering life, first through medicine and recently through my gift of healing. To be told that if I went to Whateley I would be forced to go against my very principles was tantamount to putting a gun to my head. The alternative of registering as a 'non-combatant', as they put it, held no appeal for me either since it would require me to wear a very specific armband at all times identifying me as such. I know it isn't really a fair comparison, but to me that felt very much akin to the Jews being forced to wear Stars of David sewn into their clothing during Nazi Germany. It would only serve to paint a target on me for bullies and not for a second did I believe that their security would ensure my safety. After Mom had told me about these requirements, an extensive search online finally hit pay dirt when I was able to locate a message board of sorts where people who had attended Whateley in the past talked about their experiences there. It was no surprise that I saw multiple references to the very things I feared, that being bullying was quite common, particularly because the school took in not only normal citizens and people aligned with heroes, but kids that came from villainous backgrounds as well. That part truly instilled a sense of fear in me about the school itself. While it touted itself as a place of neutrality where the only goal was education, I had to wonder how they could feel good about themselves when they were only making supervillains stronger and more intelligent. I suppose, if asked, they would say they were seeking to 'enlighten' them or perhaps get them to change their outlook on life, but unfortunately I knew from very personal experience that you can't change those that are evil. After reading through these recounting of events at Whateley, and realizing it was, in fact, not the safe haven for mutants they made it out to be, I made the very difficult decision that I had to find another alternative. Unfortunately, there really was no kind of alternative when it came to schooling catering to the very specific needs of mutants learning how to use their powers. I had actually resigned myself to going to Whateley simply because of a lack of options. That was what I had been doing that morning before going on the run Aiden, Kitty, and I had planned. The school's website had been on my laptop screen and I had been looking at it with a sense of defeat when I decided to try one more attempt at searching for alternatives. I hadn't done it in a while now and I figured if I didn't come up with anything this time I would just bite the bullet and hope it didn't end up exploding out the back of my head. After typing in the standard 'Alternatives to Whateley' in the search bard and clicking on the go button, I once again scrolled down through the various links displayed, all of which pretty much said there was no real alternative. I was just about to give up when the last hyperlink on the page caught my eye. It wasn't very innocuous, in fact it only said 'A better alternative to Whateley', but I couldn't recall having ever seen it before. Intrigued, I clicked on the link and was immediately brought to the home page of a Tearmann Institute. On it's face, it looked like just about every other private school out there, but a quick look through the opening statements on the home page quickly made me realize there was something very different about this particular school. By late that morning, I had long since called Aiden to tell her I wouldn't be able to make it to our run so I could pore over the various and extensive information that was provided about Tearmann. The more I read, the more I was amazed that A) this hadn't been on the top of the search list, and B) the school hadn't been more extensively advertised to the mutant community. The first impression I had upon reading the information on their home page, Tearmann was simply another Whateley, offering a place for mutants both for educational and power learning purposes. However, once I got passed the home page it quickly became evident that the two were quite different from one another. For one, while combat training was indeed offered, it was in no way a core curriculum nor was it a requirement for all but the most non-violent of students. Secondly, no student that was affiliated with a criminal organization, or had any kind of serious criminal history, would be admitted to the school. So, unlike Whateley, this was a place where students could go to learn and not have to worry about the kid sitting next to them in class making plans to take over the world either before or after they'd graduated. It was a rather unique approach to mutant education and I wondered why I hadn't heard of it before now. By all accounts, this place was my dream school. Modern, bleeding edge facilities and technologies, a staff with many years of training and experience both in the classroom and the field, the most up-to-date information on every subject being taught. How were people not flocking here? The icing on the cake was the dorm facilities. One thing Mom had told me about was how the students were all separated into seven different dorms, and those separations were done on the basis of personal wealth, ideals, and even because of sexual preference or physical sex change. That last one was actually a closely guarded secret, that being the Poe dormitory, but Mom told me that a while back one of her friends who hadn't been effected by the apparently magical ward that prevented people from talking about Poe informed her about the reason for the singular dorm. Instead, they were viewed by the general student population as being a house of psychotics and potentially dangerous. That in and of itself turned me off of Whateley right from the beginning. You can't claim to be a supposedly all inclusive learning environment that educates criminals and supervillains alongside good and decent people while at the same time segregating their students because of sexual preference or sex change. Magically forcing them not to speak about it as well, essentially telling their students that if they didn't conform to society's heterosexual sexual biological standards, whether it was by choice or because it was forced upon them through their mutation, they should keep themselves and who they were hidden away from others. It smacked of gross discrimination and, quite frankly, disgusted me. So when Tearmann advertised that their dorms were based upon class year vs. any other criteria, I was greatly relieved. There was no separation based upon wealth, power, sexual identity, or anything else. Everyone from that class year roomed in that dorm for all four years. While it did end up creating a separation regarding the upper and lower classmen, that was pretty standard for any private school and they had done quite well for decades. In conjunction with this, there were very strict policies in place that precluded any student from being discriminated against based upon race, species(?), gender, sexual preference, and even personal wealth. Basically, it ensured that students were treated on an individual basis rather than lumping them into some generalized category. It also didn't cause discrimination as a by-product, i.e only certain types of students were housed in certain dorms because of whatever reasons. There was one particular dorm that was separate from the others and wasn't determined by class year. More it was a specialty dorm for those possessing powers that were not yet under control and had great destructive capabilities. According to the site's literature, this dorm was designed not only to be identical to the others while also possessing extra layers of protection and security, but as a strictly temporary measure until the particular student attained proper control over his or her abilities. At that point, the student would be relocated into his or her appropriate year's dorm. It was a good idea on paper, though how it worked in practice was a bit of a mystery since there weren't really any testimonials. The other interesting thing about the school was its location. Unlike Whateley, which was within the United States, Tearmann was actually located in Canada, on the west coast of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. A quick search on the island province revealed that while it generally had quite a low population, only around five hundred and thirty thousand people living on an island over one hundred and fifty- six thousand square miles, it was the leading provider of energy resources for both Canada and the United States. This was largely due to the fact that it was mostly undeveloped, meaning it was composed of around ninety-five percent wilderness with only the remaining five percent being cities or towns. Because of this, a great amount of solar and wind farms had been established while creating very minimal impact on the environment as a while. From what I could tell, these farms, of which at last count there were at least one hundred separate locations containing at minimum fifty windmills or solar windows, both of which were gadgeteer-design so they were easily one hundred times more efficient than traditional ones, only comprised about one percent of that total five that referenced human interference in nature. In layman's terms, the whole of the island was still completely untouched by human hands as far as building and infrastructure went. Since Newfoundland had some of the highest and most consistent wind speeds in the world due to their location within the Jetstream, this allowed for their windfarms to be even more efficient. The end result was that while it possessed a low population, it was easily one of the wealthiest provinces in the nation. By the time the afternoon had rolled around I had pretty much devoured everything I could about the Tearmann Institute from their website, twice. I tried looking for anything else on it on the Internet but there was a surprising lack of it. Since both the school and its location seemed to be, at least in my eyes, ideal, it was very odd that they weren't touting their facility every chance they had. That made me suspicious. Closing my laptop, I leaned back in my chair and stretched out the kinks that had formed in my back and shoulders from hunching over the computer for so long. A quick glance at the time told me I'd been going over all of this information for four hours without even realizing it. A low growl in my stomach also reminded me that I'd only had a few pieces of toast and a cup of tea for breakfast and that it was long past time to have lunch. Leaping up from my chair I bounded down the steps to the kitchen where I found Mom putting together a few turkey sandwiches. "Hi Mom," I called as I skipped in. "Hi honey," she replied with a smile as she finished the third sandwich on the plate, "I'm guessing you're probably hungry." "Uh huh," I said, snatching one of the yummy looking sandwiches with a playful grin and taking a healthy bite. "I thought you were going running with Aiden and this new girl you met yesterday," she remarked, setting a tea kettle on the stove to heat. "I was," I admitted, "but then I found something really interesting on the Internet. Have you ever heard of the Tearmann Institute?" Her lips pursed slightly as she considered the name before shaking her head. "No, I can't say that I have. What is it? Some kind of medical facility?" "No," I said around a mouthful as I took another bite, "it's a school in Canada. Apparently it's a lot like Whateley." That seemed to catch her attention before her gaze, which had been leisurely glancing at me now and again sudden sharpened and focused on me with much more intensity. "Oh?" Her sudden interest didn't escape my attention, but then Whateley was her alma mater so it was pretty understandable. "Yeah. It offers the same benefits as Whateley does, but without all of the drawbacks." "And what drawbacks might those be dear?" she asked in a deceptively sweet voice that I wasn't buying for a second. I was about to insult the school she'd graduated from so it was understandable that she would want to defend it. "Well for one," I pointed out in a very reasonable manner, "there's no separation of students based upon wealth, power, sexual orientation, etc." The sigh she gave was the same as before when we'd had this discussion. From the very beginning I had been very vocal about my disapproval regarding their student segregation in this manner while Mom usually defended it as being character building. "Honey, we've been over this." "Yes we have," I countered, "and quite frankly it still pisses me off. How would you feel if I went to Whateley and you were told that because my mutation caused a change in my sex and sexual identity that I would be forced to live in a dorm where I was magically prevented from telling anyone anything about it? Not only that," I continued even as she opened her mouth, "but I would instantly be labeled as some kind of freak or pariah just because I lived there." As expected, Mom couldn't refute this argument just like she couldn't the other times. Since she herself had been housed in Melville Cottage, which by and large had been considered the 'rich kids' dorm, she hadn't had to endure the kind of stigma one could easily achieve simply by their place of residence. It was a cruel aspect of society in general that, quite frankly, Whateley seemed to do little about curtailing. "Well what about this Tearmann Institute?" Mom countered mildly. "How do their rooming assignments differ?" "For one," I ticked off on a finger, "the students are all housed with their own class year the entire time. It doesn't matter of you're straight, gay, rich, poor, or an alien, you all live in the same dorm facility. There's no segregation of students based upon any of those, so there's no stigma of living in such-and-such dorm so you must be a freak." "What about students that have out of control powers or are considered Ultra Violent?" she challenged. "There is a dorm specifically for students like that," I admitted. "However, it is deemed only as a temporary measure until the student is properly taught how to control their powers or violent tendencies. Then they join their class's dorm." "Interesting," Mom mused as her gaze turned distant for a moment while she considered what I had said. "And what about the curriculums?" "Apparently they are very similar to Whateley's, only they don't have a specific combat requirement. Combat courses are offered, but they aren't mandatory and students who choose not to take them aren't branded as Non Combatants." That caused her to wince slightly, as I'd made my feelings about the whole issue of wearing an armband to signify oneself as non-violent or a non-combatant very well known in the past. "Okay," she said carefully, "so this is a Whateley-esque school in Canada. Which province is it in?" "Newfoundland, on the west coast." "Hmmm," she said thoughtfully. "You know, I can't ever recall ever hearing anything about Newfoundland before. Then again, all we usually hear about regarding them is Toronto, Ottowa, and maybe Nova Scotia." "It's their eastern-most province," I recited, remembering the information I'd gleaned on the information website regarding the province itself. "It has a pretty low population given its size and it's the single largest energy supplier for the country and many of the states as well." "Interesting," Mom commented, clearly impressed by this fact. "That must make them a rather wealthy province." "I think so, but from what I read it seems like a lot of the population still live a simpler kind of life. Fishing is still a big part of their culture, apparently." "So how does a school like Tearmann become established in a place like that?" she wondered aloud. "Well," I reasoned, "it kind of makes sense. There's more power to run the school than they'll ever need, and that's if they don't have their own power source. Plus, it's in a more isolated region while still having full societal amenities. Kind of like Wolf Springs." I smiled at the sudden inspirational comparison. "I see you've really thought hard about this. Is this why you canceled your run with Aiden? Because you were looking at all of this information all morning?" "Yeah," I admitted, but without a shred of regret. "Well, it certainly sounds like this is an excellent school. What is the cost for their tuition?" "Well," I said hesitantly, "that's kind of the tricky part. See, they don't advertise that on the website. Apparently you need to book an appointment for one of their representatives to come out and meet any perspective students first and if you're considered a proper candidate for enrollment you're told the tuition fees." "That sounds rather clandestine," Mom noted worriedly, "I was fully ready to pay for you to go to Whateley, but that's because I went there myself so I know all about it. This Tearmann Institute is quite unknown and honestly how do we know they are what they claim to be on their website?" "We could always request the interview and find out from the representative that they send," I suggested hopefully. I know it was probably stupid since in reality I didn't know all that much about the school, but I was genuinely excited about the prospect of going there. That was something I hadn't dreamed would happen when it came to Whateley. "We could," Mom admitted, "but what if they aren't on the up and up? I don't mean to frighten you sweetheart, but what if Tearmann is just a front for something we don't want to be involved in?" That was something I actually hadn't considered and the thought of willingly throwing myself to a group that could possibly want to do me harm sent chills down my spine and instantly had me rethinking this whole idea. "I have an idea," Mom said when she saw the look on my face and picked up the phone. I frowned in confusion as she started dialing and I wondered if she was calling Tearmann right now. Then I realized she couldn't be since I hadn't given her the phone number yet. So who was she calling? "Hi," she said into the phone, "do you have a few minutes? Oh I should have known," she said with an exasperated roll of her eyes and a sigh that bordered on a laugh, "Yes she's right here." With a pleased smile on her face she handed me the phone. "Hello?" I asked timidly into the receiver. "Ashley," a very familiar voice greeted me in a low, gravely tone. "Ashe!" I cried happily. "It's so nice to hear you." "It's good to hear from you too," he acknowledged and it actually sounded like he meant it. "I understand you're curious about the Tearmann Institute." "How?" I stammered. "Mom and I were only just talking about that." "It's a good school," he went on, completely ignoring what I'd just said. "I vetted them and I can tell you it's not a villain training academy and it's not a clandestine organization of criminals masquerading as an educational institution to try and get their hands on mutants." "But-" "If you're interested in going there I feel confident in recommending it." "I am interested," I said quickly, hoping I could get a word in, "Mom and I were just worried about how vague they were about tuition costs and stuff." "It's for security purposes," he explained. "They don't like to advertise since they are quite selective in who they allow to attend so they aren't flooded with applicants and end up having applicants slip through whose explicit goal is to go on to be super villains after graduation." "I suppose that makes sense," I muttered. There was a pause on the other end of the line and I thought I actually heard him sigh. Ashe? Sighing? "Ashley, listen," he said, and immediately I noticed the change in his tone. Gone was the cold, rough, business-like demeanor that seemed to be such a part of him and in its place was a warmer, caring tone that I didn't even think he possessed. "You and I have history. Yes, I saved your life, but you saved mine right back. I've never forgotten that and I never will. Don't think for a moment that I wouldn't suggest something for you that I wasn't beyond one hundred percent sure was in your best interests. I understand your hesitation when it comes to Whateley. I have even more reservations about that school than you do. That's why I'm glad you found Tearmann. For someone like you, it really is the far superior place to not only get an education, but to learn about your powers as well. If that is where you want to go for school, make the call to book an appointment." "I will," I said with a smile. "But one question, why do you think Tearmann is the better school for someone like me?" "You're Irish, right?" "Yes," I replied with a bit of confusion. "What does that have to do with it?" "Tearmann is the Irish word for 'Sanctuary' or 'Refuge'." I smiled then, realizing that more than likely Ashe had this all planned from the moment he'd met me. I shouldn't have been at all surprised to begin with. The man always was countless steps ahead of everyone else. "Thanks Ashe," I said in a quiet, grateful voice. "My pleasure. I look forward to seeing your progress reports," he finished, his voice resuming his normal brusque, business-like tone before he disconnected. "Well?" Mom asked with a knowing smile. "Let's make that call," I said happily, right before there was a pounding at the front door. "Now who is that?" I wondered with a bit of irritation that this moment was being interrupted. Rising from the table I walked to the front door and threw it open, ready to send whomever was standing there packing. The last thing I expected was to see Aiden and Kitty standing there in their workout clothes, both looking rather dirty, with Aiden supporting what appeared to be an injured Kitty by the waist. They both gave me meek smiles as I exclaimed, "What the hell happened to you two?" All Aiden said was, "We need to talk." Chicago, Illinois No sooner had the call been disconnected than a second number was immediately connected to, this one possessing an area code that did not exist within the United States. The line rang twice before a smooth and cultured European voice intoned, "Good afternoon, Tearmann Institute, this is Dr. Wellman, how may I assist you?" "Drop the act Scott," came the mildly stated command, "I need to talk with you." "Ashe!" the man on the other end of the line said, now with a much more youthful exuberance and a distinct Midwestern accent, "How the hell are you?" "Busy," he said shortly, "I'll be brief. You're going to be receiving a phone call requesting an interview for Ashley Logan in Wolf Springs. That interview time will be expedited, as will the follow up calls you'll be receiving on behalf of Aiden Connors and Kitty Blake, also in Wolf Springs." "Christ Ashe," the man on the other end of the line, Scott, said as he was clearly writing things down in a hurry, "What the hell have you been doing, holding recruitment meetings?" "Send Rebecca," the dark man continued as though the other hadn't even spoken, "And fast track their applications through the process. Once they've been processed as accepted you'll find the full tuition, book and housing costs, as well as a stipend for the commissary deposited into the institute's account for Ashley Logan with a subaccount specifically designated for commissary and surplus use." "Goddammit Ashe," Scott growled, "Did you hack our systems again? What about the other two?" "They have the financial means to pay for themselves. I'll also suggest they be roomed closely together." "Suggest?" Now the educator's voice was full of disbelief, "Since when do you ever suggest anything?" "Look Scott," Ashe said, dropping the formal tone of his voice in exchange for one that spoke of many years of familiarity, "Ashley is my primary concern, but the other two have formed a budding friendship with her that she is in desperate need of. You're good at your job, that's why I've supported you for so long when you approached me for advice on the Institute and why I won't tell you how to do it-" "Other than forcing prospective students on me," Scott quipped snidely. "Ashley will receive little benefit from Whateley," he explained, "She's strictly non-combat and non-violence and her attendance there would only serve to aggravate her existing trauma regardless of their psychological program." "What kind of trauma are we talking about here Ashe?" the educator asked, his tone becoming very professional and serious. "She was the girl who was kidnapped and tortured by the physician and MCO agent in San Francisco. They were intending to conduct experimentation on her followed by dissection to learn the secret to her abilities." "I remember seeing that story," Scott said, "This is that girl huh? Yeah, I can see why you sent her my way. Aggression and combat-based education would only send her running instead of encourage her. Should I be worried about sudden, violent outbreaks triggered by PTSD?" "No, the opposite. Her pattern behavior is to close herself off from outside contact and affect a flight response when triggered." "All right," Scott said on a sigh, "Once we get the request for interviews I'll send Rebecca like you asked and fast track the applications. I assume you want them roomed close together because of their friendship?" "It will be necessary for Ashley to have an emotional anchor close by in the beginning and at least one of them has already established that kind of bond." "Jesus Ashe," the man breathed in disbelief, "Did you fucking bug her or something? Why the hell are you watching this girl so damn close?" There were a few moments of silence on the line as the man of darkness considered his words carefully. "I have my reasons," he finally allowed, "Get it done and let me know if there are any problems." The other had just started to reply when Ashe broke the connection. He knew there was a great deal more he could have done in this matter, but he also was well aware that it people did not take kindly to having their lives strictly controlled. All he'd done was lay the groundwork to give Ashley and her friends the opportunity they needed to succeed and thrive, along with a small nudge. Other than that, it was up to them to see it through. That was a gamble, given that human nature was fluid, and perspectives and outlooks could change simply from one bad day, but his instincts told him this was the right choice and they had yet to fail him. A brief flash in the corner of his eye drew his attention and his gaze shifted to see the proximity warning alarm he had established three days ago was activated. Just as he'd suspected, the man who had been systematically raping and killing college girls taken from the U of I Chicago campus had returned to what he'd deduced as his 'lair', the very building upon which he was perched atop. A quick thermal scan through the roof into the apartment below indicated the target was not alone and was in fact repeating his established M.O. of dragging a handcuffed victim into the apartment with him. As the suspect threw his victim onto the couch near the window, Ashe sprinted silently across the rooftop, leapt into the air, fired a tether line into the building's eve, swung through the window three feet from the target, and got back to work. Wolf Springs, Wyoming, McKinnon Residence "So, let me see if I'm understanding this right," Aiden said, "You're telling me that Whateley, the premiere mutant school in pretty much the entire world, sucks?" Ashley nodded from her reclining position on her bed and took a sip of orange juice. After Aiden had explained that Kitty knew about both of their mutations, and that Kitty herself was a mutant, the redhead hadn't hesitated to use her power to heal Kitty's injured ankle. Kitty actually suspected that she wouldn't have hesitated to do so even if their mutations hadn't been revealed simply because by this point she could tell it was simply Ashley's nature to help those in need regardless of the cost to herself. It was an admirable trait, but a risky one as well, especially how weak the girl had been after using her power. If simply healing a sprained ankle took that much out of her, she couldn't see how Ashley could use her power on more severe injuries. "That's what I'm saying," Ashley told them in a voice that was still slightly strained. "I've been looking into them for a while now and since Mom attended Whateley herself I've been asking her about it too. On it's face, it's not a bad school, with lots of great classes both in education and power use taught by staff who are, by all accounts, very experienced. The problem I found," she stated as she heaved up into a sitting position, assisted by Aiden, "Was the way they handled the student body." "How do you mean?" Kitty asked, unconsciously crossing her legs and tilting her body so it was shown off to its sexiest advantage. Since she was wearing a short, silk robe borrowed from Ashley's mother while hers and Aiden's clothes were washed and dried, it was very easy for both girls to mistaken the sexy brunette for a top-class Victoria's Secret model. "Yeah," Aiden wondered as well, adjusting the more modest, yet still silk, robe borrowed from Ashely, "From everything I've ever read about the place, they treat their students great?" "You have to really dig into it," Ashley explained, "Like you guys have probably already noticed from random web searches and maybe even T.V, Whateley has the reputation of being a great place for mutants. When I really looked at how they do things on their website, however, it kind of made me worry. For one, the students are separated into housing cottages based pretty much on either sex, wealth, influence, powers, and even sexual preferences." "Hmmmm," Kitty mused, "Well sex I can understand, most private schools don't have co-ed dorms, but what do you mean by the rest?" "Okay," Ashley sighed, "It's like this. If you're filthy rich or have a lot of political or business influence, you get to go to Melville, which is basically a five star freaking luxury hotel and the people housed there know it. If you're considered someone out of control or dangerous, you get stuck in Hawthorne, or what everyone there calls the 'Freak House'. For people like us who have flipped sexes or are homo or bi- sexual, we get stuffed into Poe, which is co-ed." "Well that doesn't sound so bad," Aiden observed, "I mean it's kind of nice that you'd be around a bunch of people who have gone through similar experiences and can support one another." "Oh sure," Ashley said sarcastically, "It sounds great, until you're told that you can't tell anyone about the fact that Poe was built specifically for that reason and you have a magical spell cast on you that stops you from talking about it with anyone other than someone from Poe. Everyone else in school things the place is full of psychopaths waiting to explode." "Seriously?" Kitty exclaimed, forgetting about her sexual posing and leaning forward with interest, "That's how the students at Whateley look at Poe?" "Yeah," Ashley said with clear ire in her normally sweet voice, "For some reason, and I'd love to debate the faculty on this, they seem to think that it's perfectly okay to essentially punish students for their personal sexual preferences or changes in sex, even if they didn't choose it and it was caused by their mutation." Though Kitty hadn't known the redhead long, she definitely didn't like hearing that tone coming from her. It wasn't a disapproving kind of thing, it just didn't fit the girl at all. Kindness, absolutely, sweetness, you bet, even sadness was something that she could see coming from her since her ethereal beauty would just make it seem achingly tragic. But anger? No, that simply didn't mesh with the girl she'd come to know recently. "Christ," Kitty whispered, "That sounds like-" "Something out of Hitler's Nazi Germany," Aiden finished for her in a growl, and unlike Ashley, Kitty thought this girl's anger fit her like a glove. Then again, she was a creature of the wild, so raw emotions came with the territory. "How is it possible that they've let this go on for so long?" "That's not all of it either," Ashley continued in a dejected-sounding voice. "For people like me who completely abhor violence and refuse to engage in combat training and combat finals, we're forced to wear arm bands identifying us as non-violent or non-combatants." "Holy fuck," Aiden exclaimed, having gotten so worked up at this point she had leapt to her feet and was starting to pace like a caged, furious animal, "What the fuck is wrong with these people? Don't they realize that paints a target on people's backs big time?" "I don't know," sighed Ashley, taking another sip of orange juice, "Hell, the only reason I even know about Poe is because one of Mom's friends somehow managed to avoid being effected by the magic ward and told her the real reason for Poe." "Wait a second," Kitty said, holding up a finger, "Wouldn't it make a lot more sense to let the student body know that Poe was created for students dealing with transgender issues stemming from their mutation, or that they have alternate sexual identities and preferences, and that Poe was basically one big support group? Hell, colleges do it all the time with LGTB groups and such." "Well," Aiden reasoned, "You also have to remember they have students that come from both hero and villain backgrounds as well as some that don't fall into either camp at all. My guess is this was their way of just dealing with homophobia issues so they could focus instead on the students not killing each other." "Which was another huge issue I had with it," Ashley put in. "How am I supposed to expect a decent education and training in my powers if the staff are constantly needing to worry about one of their students turning into the next Gizmatic." "That's an excellent point," Kitty acknowledged, "When you are forced to divide your attention in that way, the education and training you can provide for your students suffers greatly. What?" she said when the two looked at her with wide, disbelieving eyes before sighing, "What part of 'used to be a brilliant scientist' is confusing to you guys? I've still got the same intelligence level from before my brain scramble, just not the previous knowledge that I'd learned back then." "Anyway," Ashley said, clearly still trying to cope with the myriad of information she'd been told by Aiden and Kitty regarding the brunette's past half an hour ago, "I'd pretty much wiped Whateley off my list of schools to attend for those reasons and plenty more that I really don't want to go into right now. So I tried finding alternatives because, well, let's face it, a regular school isn't going to me, or you guys for that matter, much good." That received twin nods of agreement. "Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything as far as an alternative school goes. Then, just this morning, I'd logged back onto the Whateley site and was resigning myself to having to go there when this little popup appears redirecting me to another site. That's when I found this:" Moving to her desk chair, she flipped open her laptop to reveal the website for Tearmann Institute. "Take a look," she offered and scooted out of the way so the other girls could lean over and look through the site. "Where the fuck is Newfoundland?" Aiden mumbled. "It's a province in Canada," Ashely explained from behind them, "I've got its Wikipedia page open in the other tab." Both girls quickly looked through the information displayed on the Institute's web page before clicking over to the Wikipedia entry and looking over the information displayed on Newfoundland. "It sounds like it's hick central to me," Kitty grumbled. "I think it sounds great," Aiden countered, sounding almost dreamy. "You just like it because it's ninety-five percent wilderness," Kitty accused, but without any heat. "Damn right," Aiden agreed with a grin that had Kitty smiling as well. "Plus, this school sounds a hell of a lot more progressive than Whateley does. No villains or criminals allowed to attend, inclusive living spaces so there's no segregation, experienced staff-" "And it was highly recommended to me," Ashley concluded. "By who?" Kitty asked with a frown. Considering all three of them had only just learned of this school today and even Ashley's own mother had never heard of it, how in the world could she have gotten anyone to recommend it? "You know that guy who rescued me from Doctor Taylor and Agent Jacobs?" She nodded. During their little airing-out session where they revealed everything about themselves and their mutations with one another, Ashley had briefly recounted the events of her capture and torture at the hands of her attending physician and her subsequent rescue by a mysterious and very lethal man. "Ashe, right?" "Yeah. I talk to him after I read up on Tearmann and he told me he was going to suggest it over Whateley for me to go to." "That guy really seems to get around," Aiden muttered, recalling her own experience in Indiana and only realizing after Ashley told her own story that it had been Ashe who had partially facilitated her own rescue from her grandfather. "So Ashe is a real do-gooder huh?" Kitty remarked with a twisted smile. While Aiden only smirked a bit, Ashley shook her head with a very serious expression on her face. "He's not so easy to label. What I do know is that he is probably one of the deadliest people on this planet and he won't hesitate to put his life on the line to help someone that needs it." "He's that good huh?" Kitty asked, clearly impressed by Ashley's description. "We'd both be here if it wasn't for him," Aiden put in, casting a look over at Ashley who nodded her agreement. "And based on what I saw when I met him, yeah, I'll agree, that's one badass I don't even want to think about trying to go up against." Kitty hummed in consideration. Obviously these two had some pretty serious opinions about this Ashe, but were they colored by their experiences? Did they think this man was so great simply because he'd saved them, or did he really deserve this practically legendary reputation? She'd have to ask Angela about it later. "So anyway," Ashley said in a brighter voice, "I was just about to call them and request an interview when you guys showed up." "Do you think we should all ask for an interview?" Aiden wondered aloud. "I mean, I was kind of half considering Whateley because of being a mutant, but now I'm thinking that's a really bad idea." "Personally," Kitty put in, "I hadn't really even considered school. Since I still retain my former intelligence I was figuring I'd just self-study and try to get myself back up to where I used to be from before." "But that won't help you with your powers," Ashley pointed out. "Sure, you can test them and teach yourself, but these schools are specifically designed to not only test your abilities, but help you master them in ways you'd probably never figure out on your own." "That's an interesting point," Kitty conceded, "But I should probably consult with Angela about it. She's still got all of her memories from beyond two weeks ago so I'd like to see what she has to say about it." "Well, I'm going to call my parents," Aiden decided right there, "If they okay it, I'll talk to them with Ashley right now and ask for an interview too." "Here," Ashley said, handing Aiden her home phone, "You can use the house phone. Kitty, why don't you go ahead and call Angela on my cell." Giving her a nod of thanks, Kitty picked up the cell off of her desk and stepped out of the room so she could have some privacy while dialing Angela's cell. It only took two rings before she answered with a distracted, "M'yello?" "Hey Angela, it's Kitty, can you look up something for me?" "Kitty," the girl sighed over the phone, "You do know you're fully capable of using a computer yourself, right? We've already established you still have that kind of knowledge." Rolling her eyes, she snapped, "I'm not talking about a Google search, Miss Saucy Bitch, I need you to actually check something out and see if it's legit." "All right," she said slowly with cautious interest. Clearly the many times she'd asked about how to spot a fake Louis Vuitton or Prada product had begun to weigh on her patience. "Ashley was just telling us about a school specifically for mutants that is an alternative to Whateley. She's claiming someone she trusts told her it was legit but I was wondering if you could do some digging for me really fast?" "An alternate to Whateley huh?" she mused while the sounds of rapid typing could be heard distantly in the background. "I know there's been a few that tried in the past but they were all horrible and ended up closing down. What's the name of it?" "Tearmann Institute." "Okay, hang on." There was more typing in the background before she mumbled, "Huh, when did he do that?" "Do what?" Kitty asked, anxious to find out what her friend had discovered. "Huh? Oh, nothing. Okay, so it looks like this Tearmann place has been in operation for a while now, ever since Newfoundland went on the rise with their dramatic energy production increase. From the looks of things, they've kept really far below the radar. In fact, how did Ashley even get on their website? It's encrypted so only authorized users or guests provided passwords can...oh hell," she muttered, "That son of a bitch." "What?" Kitty asked, suddenly worried that her suspicions that this was too good to be true were about to be proven right, "What's wrong?" "Nothing," Angela sighed, "Just now figuring out exactly why a friend asked me to do him a favor. Look, the schools legit, and if it's who I think it is that verified that to Ashley you can pretty much take that to the bank. Wait," the hacker said, clearly grasping the whole situation now, "Are you thinking about applying?" "Yeah," Kitty admitted, "I know I've still got my original level of intelligence from before, but I don't have the knowledge to go along with it. Plus, I still don't have good control over my powers and self- teaching can only go so far. I was actually thinking about Whateley but after talking with Ashley and Aiden I don't think it's such a good idea anymore?" "Why's that?" Angela inquired, sounding genuinely curious. "I always though the place had a pretty stellar reputation with the mutant community." Without going into too much detail, Kitty relayed the conversation the three of them just had regarding Whateley and why Tearmann looked like a better choice. By the time she was finished Angela couldn't help but agree. "You know," she said thoughtfully, "I'd never really considered the angle that Ashley looked at it from, but now that I do it really makes a lot of sense. I mean, I've never been to the place myself since I'm not a mutant, but I've talked with people who had." "Were they unhappy about the place?" Kitty wondered. "Not in so many words. They usually had good things to say about it but they would talk about things quite a bit that really fall in line with Ashley's opinions. I think maybe they were just too wrapped up in nostalgia to remember all of those bad things." "And what about this Tearmann Institute?" "Well," the hacker sighed, "There's actually not very much on them, but that's because they keep really quiet about their operations. I did take a quick look at the stuff behind the scenes and everything is above board and they're really very strict about who they admit. No villains, no children of villains currently aspiring to their parents' goals, no one with serious criminal histories...it looks like they're only allowing decent folks into this place." "So you think it'll be okay to at least ask for an interview?" "I'd say so," Angela confirmed, "I mean there's no harm in just talking with someone from there face to face, and based on their tuition costs we'll be able to swing that without even noticing at this point." The issue of money never even occurred to Kitty, but that was due to the fact that their initial acquisition of the funds stolen by Sinclair was huge to begin with and growing all the time due to smart investments. However... "All right, I'm going to set up an appointment along with Ashley and Aiden. There's something else I need you to do..." A few minutes later, Kitty walked back in the room just as Aiden was hanging up the phone. From the look on her face it was pretty clear that her parents had okayed her own request for permission to ask for an interview as well. "Go good?" she asked unnecessarily. "Yeah," Aiden smiled, "After I explained everything and they talked to Ashley they were all for it. It was actually kind of a load of their minds because they were going to suggest Whateley to me soon anyway." "So should I make the call?" Ashley asked anxiously as she held up the phone with a giddy smile on her face. The answer was a resounding affirmative. Wolf Springs, Wyoming, Nature Walk Hotel As Tome and his friends walked through the halls towards their assigned rooms, he had to admit he was pretty impressed with the hotel. Despite it being rustic in appearance, particularly from the outside, the interior was plush and its appointments were clearly done by a person of taste. While the color scheme mirrored the surrounding areas, that being primarily greens and browns, the manner in which they'd been adapted to the hotel's design provided a homey, comfortable feel with a wealthy appearance. More than once he thought that the place would give some of the higher end hotels in New York a run for its money when it came to an appearance of wealth. While there weren't the vaulted, jewel-encrusted walls, ceilings, and chandeliers one would find in the Ritz Carlton, the more intimate feeling of Nature Walk actually made it seem more inviting instead of having a museum-like quality. As the three separated to go to their individual rooms, Tom was once again struck by how much the proprietors of this hotel really wanted their guests to feel at home. While he'd seem pictures of the room online back at the fraternity house, the welcoming feel of the room was even further enhanced by actually standing in it. "Not bad," he muttered as he went about unpacking his suitcase and properly putting the various items in their place within the room. He had just finished assembling his toiletries on the bathroom sink when there was a knock at his door. Moments later, Jake and Jeremy were lounging on the couch in the sitting room area while Tom changed his travel-weary shirt. "So where to first?" Jeremy asked anxiously, practically bouncing in his seat. That was something Tom would have to watch. Out of all of them, he had the least amount of impulse control. While he was just as successful when it came to scoring a piece of pussy for the night as the rest of them, he also struck out more than the rest, and he never took it well. More than once he and other members of the frat's leadership circle had had to pull his ass out of a fire of his own making. "We'll go slow," Tom decided, "Maybe take a walk through downtown first and get the lay of the land. If we're lucky, we'll meet some of these fabled hotties and strike up a conversation or two. No dragging them off to your room tonight," he warned, sending Jeremy a pointed look, "There's no point to this if you're just going to grab the first girl you see and bang her on the first day, we won't have anything else to do for the week." "Yeah," Jake agreed, "It's not like this place is a hotbed of action or anything, unless you like nature walks that is." "Maybe one of the girls around here is a real nature buff and can give us a private tour or something," Jeremy suggested with a grin. Tom hummed at the idea. "That has some potential, but you have to make sure you pick the right girl. We don't want to have to send out search parties to find you because you get lost trying to get some pussy." "Yeah yeah," Jeremey waved away the concern as his gaze had already turned slightly far-off, a sign that he was already envisioning some kind of wilderness fuck-fest in his mind, "I'll find some hippy, earth- child chick that knows the area or something. They're usually tigresses in the sack anyway." Tom caught Jake's gaze and the pair rolled their eyes in unison. Yeah, it was going to be one of those kind of trips again. "All right, let's get going," Tom announced before leading the trio from the room and out of the hotel. Fortunately, a small town like this meant they didn't need to go back to their car in order to get anywhere. While it was certainly spacious and well built, the downtown area itself was perhaps only a mile in length with one centralized street that had stores, restaurants, and the sparse bar or club on either side of it. The club in question was currently closed while the bar did appear to be open, but only for food service. A sign on the door they passed stated that alcohol would not be served until six P.M. on a daily basis. "What kind of horseshit is that?" Jeremy sneered, thumbing at the aforementioned sign, "These people got something against drinking?" "It's probably an effort to keep alcoholism down and prevent people from driving drunk when children are out and about," Jake reasoned. "It's stupid if you ask me," Jeremy muttered, "How the hell do the expect to make money?" Tom was tempted to tell him that it was likely the food, and that the reality was most people in this town certainly didn't seem to be hurting financially, but he refrained from bothering. In the end it would probably just send the moron off on some other kind of tangent and draw unnecessary attention to them. As they were casually perusing the available stores on the main strip to see if there were any interesting specialty shops to browse as a means of killing time, some movement out of the corner of his eye grabbed Tom's attention. Turning his head, he saw sleek, black car slip into an open parking space right before three of its doors swung open. He was just about to return his attention back to his friends with the suggestion of peeking in a woodworking shop to find some new spanking paddles for the frat when he froze. Exiting the car were three of the hottest girls he'd ever seen. While clearly they were teenagers, even the least attractive easily outshone pretty much every girl back on campus, and there were more than a few hot ones there. Since he knew that any kind of direct staring would be noticed by probably everyone in the immediate area, he chose not to alert his cohorts to his finding and instead surreptitiously continued to watch them while silently evaluating and assigning them to his brethren. That was how things usually worked within their group. While Jake could be pretty smooth and Jeremy exemplified the stereotypical pretty college guy who knew just how handsome he was, Tom had a different kind of knack when it came to women. For as long as he'd been sexually active, which was just after puberty, he'd been able to tell just what kind of guy a girl would be drawn to after observing her for a brief period of time. It not only allowed him to adjust his approach to her to maximize the chances of him getting to fuck her, but also enabled him to pair girls to his friends as well so they would have the same opportunity. The brunette he tagged for Jeremy immediately. She was cheery, vivacious, and practically exuded sex appeal through her pores. Her manner of dress also seemed to exemplify this aspect as she currently wore a low-cut top that exposed quite a generous amount of impressive cleavage and a short skirt that showed off legs that just seemed to go on forever. Every movement she made from the way she tossed her hair to the subtle roll and sway of her hips that caused her skirt to twitch enticingly when she walked practically screamed 'fuck me!'. Since Jeremy was rather low in the smoothness department, he shouldn't have much trouble getting that one's legs spread. The black-haired girl looked more rough and tumble, having a somewhat serious expression on her face that relaxed and even brightened when one of her companions said something or made a joke. Her simple jeans and T- shirt, while not highlighting her shape, did nothing to hide the alluring feminine contours of her young, lithe body that he suspected could ride a guy into oblivion and keep wanting more. This one was definitely for Jake. He possessed the smoothness to chat her up and the rough, rugged background to keep her interested instead of boring her with pedestrian exploits. The redhead...she practically had Tom stopping in his tracks. The first thing that caught his attention was her bright, vibrant hair that could only have come from a bottle. When she turned to look at one of her friends, however, it was her eyes that were particularly arresting. They a bright green that almost seemed to glow with their own inner light. He'd seen people possessing that kind of nearly glowing quality eye color before, but typically the color was blue and they were on T.V so special effects and lighting might have played a big part. With this girl there was none of that, and yet they were still almost unnaturally bright. When she laughed, something that made her seem utterly enchanting and almost fey-looking, he thought for sure his heart had skipped a beat. There was no denying the innocence that radiated from this fragile-looking creature of femininity and the tightening in his crotch was damn near painful. All of this coupled with a simple, one- piece dress that fell nearly to her ankles in a single, snug column of what had to be taupe-colored silk showed off the sweet, delicious curves that practically had his mouth watering, especially when every step she took revealed slits in the side of the skirt that showed off a generous amount of toned, shapely leg. This girl was his, no question, and already he was thinking of countless different ways to begin his seduction that would result in hearing her screaming in pleasure. While his two partners in the quest for pussy continued talking about what they could possibly do in this place, Tom watched the girls enter a sporting goods store several doors down. Once they'd disappeared from sight he quickly turned, bringing his companions to a sudden halt. "What's up man?" Jake asked with a raised eyebrow at the sudden, anticipatory expression on his fraternity president's face. Tom merely smiled. Wolf Springs, Wyoming, Rough Terrain Sporting Goods "Guys, seriously, I'm fine with what I have." Casting a knowing look at Kitty, she merely smiled and shrugged at me as though to say: I told you so. "Aiden, listen," I said patiently, turning back to her as she looked over the racks of workout clothes as though they might attack her at any moment, "I've been in these woods a lot and Kitty got a pretty good idea about them this morning. What you were wearing just isn't right for going on wolf runs." "Well I usually just have fur," she muttered, quickly looking around to make sure no one else heard her. "You won't when we all go together," I countered, "And the stuff you were wearing today just isn't going to cut it. It's far too loose. If you were just going for a jog down main street you'd be fine, but racing through trees and brush you're going to end up tearing your clothes apart." Her quick blush of embarrassment didn't escape mine or Kitty's attention. "It's already happened before, hasn't it," Kitty accused mildly. "Maybe," Aiden mumbled, shuffling her feet a bit as she looked down at them. "A couple times when we were on the road and I couldn't risk shifting but I wanted to run," she admitted. "See," I pointed out, jumping on the opportunity to prove my point, "You won't have any workout clothes at all if you keep it up. For this kind of running you need form-fitting workout clothes that won't flap or flutter around and catch a stray branch or get caught in a thicket." "But they're just so...revealing," she finished in a whisper, fingering a pair of lycra pants experimentally. "I know," I told her sympathetically, "And believe me, I was pretty hesitant to wear similar stuff the first time too. Remember," I told her, dropping my voice so no one outside our little group could hear us, "I used to be a guy also, so form-fitting clothes felt really weird to me in the beginning too. But I got used to it," I continued at a more normal volume, "And actually, I like it now. Maybe not as much as Kitty does," I quipped, sending her a pointed look that resulted in her sticking her tongue out at me, "But I'm proud of my body and how I look. I don't show it off like I'm on a runway but I'm not ashamed of it either." "Hey," Kitty snarked, "If you've got it, flaunt it." "Down girl," I muttered. "I just..." Aiden sighed as she seemed to struggle to find the right words, "I know I look good, okay? I've seen myself in the mirror and you guys might remember I did kind of have the makings of a boyfriend back in Indiana, but I'm still just not all that comfortable looking so...sexy." I was getting ready to try a different tact when Kitty walked over and put her hand on Aiden's shoulder. "I get what you're saying," she told her, "You're kind of embarrassed about the attention you get because you're pretty. Believe it or not, I am too." That got a look of shock not only from Aiden but from me too. "Oh knock it off," she snorted, "Yes, I know, I walk around like a one nine-hundred number advertisement, but remember that's largely programming. Inside, I still cringe a little sometimes when I see guys looking at me like I'm a piece of fine-cut meat. The only reason I can think of why I keep showing off and dressing like I do is because it's like a programmed habit. You know, like how you like to...run," she said, careful not to spill the secret of the wolf-girl's mutation. "You can control it most of the time, but that urge is there and a lot of times it comes out in your personality." "I guess I kind of see what you're saying," Aiden admitted, "But why do I have to dress how society expects me to?" "In this one case," I told her, "You're not. This is about practicality, not fashion or showing off your body. If the only thing you ever want to wear is jeans and T-shirts, that's fine, but for doing our runs you need to wear appropriate clothes that won't get ripped or torn all the time. Believe me, if you were a guy I'd be telling you the same exact thing and we'd be looking at those skin tight running shorts that put a guy's package on display." As I gestured in the direction of the racks in question I noticed the front door open and three guys walk in. Instantly I knew they weren't local since I didn't recognize any of them. Each of them were rather handsome and were clearly in college based upon how old they looked. It wasn't so unusual for students from the surrounding major cities to come visit our town during the summer to go on nature hikes or maybe even do some animal watching, so that wasn't what really caught my attention. It was the way they briefly looked at us. I wasn't overly experienced when it came to men, but there was absolutely no mistaking the keen interest in their eyes when their gaze paused in our direction before continuing on towards the hiking gear on the far wall. One of them in particular, a dark-haired boy with penetrating brown eyes, gave me a very brief, crooked smile that actually sent a quick little thrill up my spine. "I bet you're wondering how his package would look on display," I heard muttered in my ear. Gasping in both surprise and offense, though I really couldn't pull off the offended part, I spun around to see Kitty grinning wickedly at me. "What? No!" I assured her. "Honey, you might want to wipe your chin, you've got a bit of drool there. I have to say," she said as I q