The March Rain (Tempest)

[Dragon]

The rain slapped noisily against the tall, colonial windows in John Rhee's office at Cullen's Institute for the Gifted. It had been a late winter in New York, landing the village of Salem Center with eighteen inches of snow early in March, but that had all melted away in a week, and with the rise in temperature came torrential rains and gusting winds. An afternoon that would normally have seen the younger students running around the grounds at recess instead found everyone retreating inside as the trees rocked in the wind and the the pounding rain churned the lawns into mud.

The raindrops reflected on John's face as he gazed numbly between the bamboo slats of his window shades. It was as if the sky had known what the day would bring and had prepared just the right backdrop for it.

---

The call had come half an hour ago. Ethan was away on business - which could mean anything from overseeing a new venture by his billion-dollar pharmaceutical corporation to covertly securing resources and contacts for the X-Men. But it meant his work at the school was temporarily divided among the faculty. Despite being less senior than some of the other teachers on staff, John Rhee had in many ways become Ethan's second-in-command - in the field and in the school's administration. And while the Korean mutant was eager to serve the school, he wasn't so crazy about the paperwork.

He was carving through a mountain of student records to find the data they needed for some certification by some state bureaucracy when the phone rang. He picked it up with some reluctance.

"Hello, Rhee."

"John, I have the New York Highway Patrol on the line," said Clara on the other end.

"Highway Patrol? What do they want?"

"They wanted to speak with an administrator. They wouldn't tell me more. But it sounds serious."

John furrowed his brow. "Okay. Put them through."

The phone line switched over with a tone and a click, and outside, it began to rain.

"Hello, I'm Professor John Rhee. What can I do for you?"

"Yes, she's a student here."

"Was it serious?"

....

"Are you sure?"

...

"I see. Is there any chance..."

"I see. Thank you, officer. I'll let her know immediately."

"Thank you. Goodbye."

John slowly set the receiver down. A peal of thunder rolled in the distance.

It was several minutes before he picked it up again and dialed the office. "Clara, it's John. Could you please have Jacinda Blake come to my office? Right away, please. Thank you."

He stood, turned, and lifted one of the bamboo slats in his window shade to stare out at the driving March rain.

[Jacinda Blake]

Since it wasn't a great day for outside freetime, Jacinda had dragged out the art supplies for the younger students and let them go wild. (After moving class tables, draping the floor with canvas and getting the ok to do so.)

Her denim overalls had seen better times, but not brighter as she was covered in splashes of neon paint from an overly enthusiastic little boy who had at least seven paintbrushes levitated and working on his masterpiece beside her, a replica of Cullen's, done in the brightest possible water-based colors he could find..

"That's lovely, Stephen! Makes the day seems not so dull, huh?"

"Yeah! You like it, Jas?! Really?"

"Of course.."

When one of the other teachers aids popped their head in the door of the class, Jacinda looked over and smiled a greeting.

"Hey Jacinda? You're supposed to report to Professor Rhee's office. I'll keep an eye on the pygmies."

"Oh. Ok..then!"

Jacinda just assumed that it was important X-men related business and didn't question it.. She quickly washed her hands, hung her painting smock up on a peg, then waved goodbye to the class and made her way to Professor Rhee's office knocking on the door.

[Dragon]

John took a deep breath and let the bamboo slats fall back into place. "Come in."

As soon as he saw Jacinda's face appear in the door, he felt his heart ache. His expression was soft, but unreadable.

"Why don't we sit down."

There clearly wasn't a question mark at the end of it. He motioned to the little sitting area next to his desk with the two armchairs and the love seat, where he'd first spoken with Jacinda about her abilities when she'd arrived at the Institute.

[Jacinda Blake]

Jacinda got the distinct impression that something bad had happened, almost immediately after opening the door, although she couldn't possiby think of what it could be. Professor Rhee seemed pained about it for her..

After making sure she was free of any still-wet paint, she sat as instructed and folded her hands in her lap. "What is it, Professor?"

[Dragon]

John sat down across from Jacinda, his hands restless on his knees. He knew Jacinda already sensed something was wrong, and his own tension wasn't helping.

"Jacinda, I just received a call from the New York Highway Patrol," he said in a low voice. "I'm afraid... It seems there's been an accident."

[Jacinda Blake]

Queasiness settled in her stomach. She just knew. It wasn't someone from Cullen's. It was someone from her family and even if they had dropped her like a leper when her mutation had arose, they were still her family..

"Lucy?" - that was her first thought. Jacinda was the older sister, it was her job to worry.

[Dragon]

John felt as though the floor had opened up, and both of them were teetering on the edge of a very deep, very dark chasm.

"Your father was driving," he said. "Your mother and Lucy were passengers."

He could feel them both sinking into the inky blackness.

"The car went over the side of a bridge over Black River Bay."

[Jacinda Blake]

Her eyelids squeezed shut tight against the image. The sting of hot tears forming behind them was just too much. Her chest felt hollow, raw.. She just couldn't keep the shudder of pain from rippling up her body. Tears spilled out through her closed eyes and slid down her face unheeded..

They were going to the lake house.

Jacinda felt a swirl of cold air, sucked in from outside through a draft around the window. The window rattled ominously. The gust surrounded her, cold and uncomforting, lifting her long hair off her back and blowing it around her face. Her hands clentched at her sides...

"Did they...? Is anyone....? Will they be able....?"

She didn't know what to ask, and she was quickly losing her grip on her own abilities in a way she had not done since becoming a student at Cullen's, and that scared her on top of her misery, a bad combination for her..

[Dragon]

John felt the draft, and he realized the danger. Part of him thought he should stop - move her someplace safe, where she couldn't do damage if she lost control again like she'd lost it at her high school homecoming...

He got up and moved to the love seat so he could reach and take a hold of Jacinda's hand.

"Your parents," he said, painfully, "didn't survive. Lucy hasn't been found, but she's presumed..."

He closed his other hand over hers.

[Jacinda Blake]

At the gentle touch of a hand on her own, Jacinda's eyes opened, and more tears fell. Her eyes were already red-rimmed with emotion and pain.

Her parents were dead.

Her Daddy who had once loved her and doted on her was gone.

Her Mother, who's first concern upon finding out that Jacinda was a mutant, had been that she may have spread her affliction to her sister.

They had both been so eager just to pretend she had been dead then, and now they really were and she would never have the chance to talk to them.. To tell them that it was still her, even if she could make a bit of a storm and fly.. and that she had always loved them all.

They were dead, and Lucy was missing, probably dead too..

"No.."

She yanked her hand out of Professor Rhee's, choking on a sob. A blast of wind followed her, blowing the contents of the office around in chaos as she ran out the door, covering her face in her hands and sobbing.

[Dragon]

Papers went flying off the desk, along with pencils, paperclips, other small debris, and the trail of wind following in Jacinda's wake slammed the door shut with a force that rattled the windows.

John jumped up from his seat and rushed after her - it took considerable effort to pry the door open against the suction in the hallway, which had become a wind tunnel. He saw several students who'd been bowled over by the blast.

"Jacinda!" he yelled. "Wait!"

This was bad. The last time she'd lost control, she'd torn down a gymnasium. The mansion may have been built of sturdier stuff, but Jacinda's anguish was much worse this time. And John knew first-hand how destructive a broken heart could be.

He ran after her, propelled by the rushing wind at his back.

[Jacinda Blake]

She couldn't even pretend that she cared about the mess she'd made of the office, all she knew was grief. Some part of her warned her to caution. This was the only home and the only friends that she had left. She couldn't let her abilities destroy that, in any capacity. So she ran for the mansions front doors, thinking to take the danger outside and away from everyone.

Jacinda ignored Professor Rhee's call. He didn't understand, she had to get out of here before something bad happened..

She burst out the doors and into the rain, thinking to take to the winds and let them batter her, instead of the school, but flight was an impossibility at this point, as her abilities were linked to her emotions.. and right they were in rampage mode. As she splashed through gathering puddles, they spun up around her legs into miniature water spouts. They swirled around her body, both threatening and protective at the same time..

She ignored them too, as she sobbed and kept going down the gravel path to the gardens, staggering, coughing and getting thoroughly soaked.

[Dragon]

John ran out through the open doors after her, buffeted immediately by squalls of rain - whether the wind was from the storm or from Jacinda, he couldn't tell. He stumbled down the steps onto the slick asphalt roundabout and saw Jacinda retreating toward the gardens.

He followed her through the cold, pounding rain, but kept his distance. He didn't want to crowd her, but he had to make sure she didn't do anything to hurt herself.

He wasn't certain how he'd stop her. But that wouldn't keep him from trying.

[Jacinda Blake]

When Jacinda reached the center of the garden, watery tornados still spinning around her, she stopped in her tracks, looking around as if she had no idea where to go next. Ridiculous as it sounded, she was trying to outrun the pain, and the truth of it all.. She knew she couldn't of course, and that she was going to have to face the facts, but she didn't know how to shut down the more volatile side of her abilities.

Professor Rhee was still following her, but he wasn't trying to overtake her. She was afraid of what her abilities might have done, if he had. She really had no control over the auto-defensive stance the water spouts were making on her presently unstable behalf..

"Go away..." She choked, backing up a step at a time away from her teacher. She didn't want to hurt anyone..

[Dragon]

John halted. In all their training sessions, even the advanced exercises in the Danger Room, he'd never seen Jacinda's abilities behave this way. And judging from the fear in her eyes, she hadn't either.

The weather was mimicking her emotional state - conflicted, tempestuous, unstable. John could feel the cold rain slicing straight through jacket. He drew on his ch'i to keep himself warm.

"I can't," he said. He took a cautious step toward her. "Jacinda, I know you need time. You need to grieve. But I won't abandon you."

[Jacinda Blake]

Her head dropped in pain at the mention of grief. She knew that. This wasn't about that right now, not anymore. Right now she just wanted this to stop so no one would be hurt by her and her out of control abilities. Last time it had taken a tranquilizer dart to her neck to stop her. As unpleasant as it sounded, she wished someone would do the same thing right now. Being terrified ontop of her sorrow was just making the situation worse..

"Help me..." Jacinda whispered, not even knowing if she'd be heard over the roar of the winds around her.

"Please help me.." She tried again louder..

[Dragon]

She was losing control - John could feel it. The air pressure was plummeting to tornadic levels, which only made the winds worse. The rain seemed to swirl around Jacinda, and the trees overhead rocked and bowed toward her. One of them groaned heavily, an old aspen tree, its branches weakened from the heavy snow earlier in the month.

John rushed forward and was nearly bowled over by a sudden blast of wind.

"You can control this!" he shouted. "Trust yourself! Rise above the storm!"

As if the tragedy wasn't enough - now she couldn't grieve in peace?

[Jacinda Blake]

Skeptic, but willing to give it a try if Professor Rhee believed in her, Jacinda nodded. The twin spouts whirled around her, menacing now towards her teacher whom they had decided was a threat to them, or her, or however it worked. She didn't know anymore. She'd cried out as one had moved to knock him back away from her, but it hadn't stopped it from happening..

She was shaking now, she was so cold and wet. Her teeth were chattering, and all she could think about was how cold the water must have been.. How scared Lucy had probably been when it happened. Her little sister had always had an irrational fear of crashing.. Especially over bridges, like somehow she had always known..

Jacinda could not think on anything pleasant at all right now, to try and reign in the mess she had unconsciously summoned with her grief. If anything it was only getting worse. The winds were even still picking up, tree branches were snapping ominously and falling to the formerly pristine grounds..

"I can't!" She called back.. "I just can't... Please help me."

[Dragon]

John knew what she meant - it terrified him - and he paused, hoping against hope she'd find the strength to take back control...

But her emotions were feeding on her powers, and her powers were feeding on her emotions, and the storm was feeding on both. A flash of lightning pulled his gaze upward, and he saw with breathless awe a vast rotation starting in the clouds above.

"Jacinda," he yelled, "I'm sorry!"

His arms flashed with spiritual radiance, the force of his ch'i manifested as a shimmering, crimson aura. He flexed his ethereal talons and walked toward her.

One of the spouts lashed out and caught him up off his feet. He tumbled in through the air as it swept him away, and he dug his talons into the ground - they left steaming furrows in the mud. Regaining his traction, he leapt at Jacinda, and the other spout caught him in mid-air, but as it swung him around, he reached out and seized Jacinda by the shoulders.

As they both spun to the muddy ground, he gripped her head between his hands and sought out the pressure points at her temples and under her jaw. He squeezed them firmly, and his aura flashed as his ch'i overpowered hers.

Jacinda fell limp in his arms, and the waterspouts disintegrated. John sat cradling the girl in his lap, sheltering her from the rain, and then, carefully, very carefully, he gathered her up in his arms to carry her back inside.

[Jacinda Blake]

Jacinda had been scared when Professor Rhee had grabbed her, not knowing what was going to happen, but he hadn't hurt her, not really and then.. everything had just gone dark and quiet.

She knew she was going to wake up. She was sort of in that place between awake and dreaming, where she knew she was asleep, but had no desire to wake up. The last time, she had awoken to find Professor Dupont and Professor Flannery busting her out of jail like she'd found Wonka's golden ticket.. She didn't think that this time anyone was going to be able to make her smile..

She didn't even know where she was, only that it was quiet and dimly lit and very, very still. There was almost no airflow in the room at all. She didn't blame them.

Rolling over she opened her eyes, half expecting to be strapped to a gurney again..

[Dragon]

She was in a small room with the same futuristic chrome construction that dominated the sub-basement. There was medical equipment around, but none of it seemed to be active. She was lying on a medical bed and wrapped up in a blanket which was now quite wet and dirty from the mud on her clothes and arms, but it was enough to keep her warm.

John sat in a metal chair by her bedside, his face in his hands. When she turned over, he looked up. His eyes were red and glistening.

"Hi," he said, almost at a whisper.

[Jacinda Blake]

"Hi.." She whispered back.

The silence in the room was awful compared to how her ears were still roaring from the winds. She pulled the blanket tighter around her still form, in the bed, as if she could draw forth some kind of comfort from it. Then she was silent for a long time.

"I'm sorry, Professor. I'm sorry I couldn't stop it." Jacinda finally said. Her voice was eerily calm.

"Did I hurt anyone?" She finally found the courage to meet his eyes, but all she could see was her own pain, mirrored there.

[Dragon]

John rubbed his face wearily with one hand, almost as if he were the one just waking up. "No," he said. "You just brought down a few tree branches."

He fell silent for a few moments. He was still haunted by what he'd seen in the lightning, that glimpse of something spinning in the clouds nearly a mile above them.

"You're not stuck in here or anything," he said, gesturing loosely at the quarantine cubicle around them. "I just thought it was best to take you somewhere with a controlled air supply. But I don't want you to worry about your abilities right now. I'm more worried about you."

[Jacinda Blake]

She nodded, blowing out a sigh of relief. "I'm glad no one got hurt."

Jacinda sat up, taking the blanket with her and kicked her muddy shoes off onto the floor. Right now she just felt too drained to feel much at all. The massive draw upon her abilities, and the sudden cessation, seemed to have sucked her dry of her tears for the time being. She was blessedly numb.

"I'm ok... I mean, I'll be ok."

Mostly she felt pretty stupid. She should have been able to control her own powers and make them stop. If Professor Rhee hadn't been there to intervene..

[Dragon]

It was impossible to absorb this sort of tragedy in an hour, or even in a day. It was a process, and no part of it would be easy. Jacinda's emotional eruption was part of that; this quiet period of emotional exhaustion was another. John only hoped she would not stay there too long. It was relief, but it wasn't healing.

He knew her mind wasn't on her loss. Not yet. She was still thinking about the storm.

"Jacinda," he said, "don't blame yourself for losing control. This isn't the time to be hard on yourself. As soon as you feel up to it, if you want to go back to your room, clean up, and rest, you're welcome to."

[Jacinda Blake]

Jacinda stood up, ready to go right then, but plopped back down to the mattress almost instantly. She hadn't counted on feeling that wobbly. Determined, she tried again more slowly this time and rose to her feet, leaving the blanket on the bed, and picking up her shoes on the way.

"Getting cleaned up sounds like a good place to start, Professor, if it's ok..?"

She did blame herself. How could she be an assest to the X-men if she was capable of losing control of her powers, and not be able to shut them down if they were becoming a danger to others? She was going to have to stew on that question on her own..

As for the other, she didn't want to think about her family at all. Not at all.

[Dragon]

"Of course."

John moved to steady her, but she was determined to find her feet on her own, so he quietly stepped aside and opened the door. He accompanied her to the nearest elevator, which opened near the student wing.

"You know that if you need anything - anything at all - you only have to ask," he said.

[Jacinda Blake]

She nodded again, feeling like it was all she was capable of right now. Jacinda didn't need or want anything in specific. She couldn't even think about eating, she'd be sick for sure. She wasn't thirsty, not after all that rain water logging her. She just wanted..

Her head lifted up a notch. "Would you find Carlos for me?"

Considering her room mate, Tess, who Jacinda had considered her best friend had left the school, her room was going to be awfully lonely. Chris couldn't be counted on, he was probably doing some heinous task like painting Esme's toenails for her..

When it all boiled down, she only wanted Carlos. He was more than just her boyfriend, he was her partner and she just might get through this mess because she had him.

"Please?"

[Dragon]

It was only natural she'd be lonely for company - the company of a peer, not a teacher, especially not the teacher who'd just unloaded such a bombshell on her. But Carlos...

Boys weren't allowed alone in the girls' dorm rooms as it was, and anyway John wasn't sure about adding a possible element of bad luck to the situation. But then, Carlos and Jacinda were adults now, and what was more, they were X-Men. Maybe Carlos was the perfect choice.

"All right," he said. "I'll get him."

There really was nothing more that needed to be said.

[Carlos Calaveras]

It h had been a slow day. Basketball practiced had been rained off and, lacking anything else of interest to occupy himself with, Carlos had resorted to actually doing his homework. He was sitting at the desk in his room, staring accusingly at a blank sheet of paper, when a knock came at his door. It was Professor Rhee. Apparently, Carlos was needed elsewhere.

As John lead the way from the boys dormitories, he explained what had happened. Carlos didn't say at word. They came to a halt outside the room that had once belonged to Tess and Jacinda, but now was only occupied by the latter. Carlos took a deep breath - trying to summon up some courage or something that might help - and then pushed the door open, giving it a faint knock as he did so.

[Jacinda Blake]

Jacinda had showered, washing away half of the mud of the school grounds that had been clinging to her from being rolled by both the wind and Professor Rhee. She'd redressed in some baggy pants and an shirt that had belonged to Tess and had been left behind when she'd bailed out. It was comforting to her on some level..

She just wandered out of the bathroom, leaving it a wreck, which she never did, being the tidiness police. Twisting her still wet hair into a braid, she was just going into the room that had once connected her bedroom to Tess'. Not that long ago it had been filled with all of her friends for a late night party..

Now it just looked dark and gloomy.

As she passed the door it opened and Carlos was there, as promised by Professor Rhee. Without a word, she closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around him, laying her head on his chest. She could tell that Professor Rhee had given him a heads up, by his expression, so she didn't need to talk. She just needed to be held. Sooner or later the tears were going to come again..

[Carlos Calaveras]

The door clicked closed behind him, sealing the room in silence. Only the patter of rain on the windows, and the muffled sounds of far off voices, disturbed the quiet. Jacinda took a ragged breath; Carlos held her head against his shoulder, gently stroking her hair.

[Jacinda Blake]

They stayed like that for a while, just inside the door. Jacinda's heart pounded, fighting against the need to release another torrent of emotion. She didn't want to cry anymore, her eyes were still slightly puffy and raw from her last bout of tears.

She rubbed her face against Carlos' chest, her fingers twisting into his shirt at first, then sliding beneath it to run across bare skin.. The contact seemed to calm her slightly, his warmer than warm skin, so familar to her.. It wasn't enough though.. Almost impatiently she gripped his shirt again and pulled it up and off of him..

[Carlos Calaveras]

Carlos frowned in confusion as the shirt was tugged over his head, though the expression was barely visible behind his now mussed hair. Bare-chested, he felt suddenly self-conscious, anxious excitement prickling in his gut. Jacinda was kissing him, hard kisses unlike anything they had shared before. It was his turn, now, to feel his heart pounding, and he would have sworn that as her hands roamed over his skin, she would feel it too. After allowing himself a moment to savor it all, he caught her wrists and looked her in the eye.

“Jas...”

[Jacinda Blake]

"Shhhh.." She whispered, raggedly.

"I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to think about it." She was still emotionally raw, yes, but she somehow knew exactly what sort of emotional release would dull the rest of the pain and she wanted it..

Jacinda pulled her hands free and yanked off her own shirt, before sliding up against his chest again. "Make me forget for now, please? Just kiss me..."

She grabbed his messy hair and dragged his lips back to hers urgently..

[Carlos Calaveras]

Carlos gave in. Who was he to protest? For that matter, why would he want to? He'd never known Jacinda to be like this and, in truth, it was exciting. He caught her up in his arms, and kissed her with playful nips and bites.

[Jacinda Blake]

A pleased sound escaped her. That was exactly what she wanted. She let Carlos take over, relaxing into his arms. It didn't take much of that kind of contact for her to want more. She whispered the suggestion against his ear, before biting his ear lobe and in mere seconds they were falling backward, slowly floating, into her bed.

[Carlos Calaveras]

In no time at all, he had kicked off his jeans and helped Jacinda free of her clothes too. It felt like just a minute ago he'd come through the door and now, here they were, undressed, in each others arms. There was none of the clumsiness that Carlos had expected. They had spent so much time together, training to become in tandem, that everything moved so fluidly.

[Jacinda Blake]

It didn't take long for them to locked together in the most intimate of embraces. Jacinda's mind fogged any painful thoughts away into dark corners, replacing them with sensation and touch and.. God Carlos' skin was hot..

Her sighs were breathless as they rolled from one particular embrace into another, their constant rolling sent them off the side of the bed, but Jacinda was in an altered state.. far too blissful at the moment and they floated in place. When she realized what that meant, she floated them up until Carlos' back touched the ceiling..