Elevators/Me & You

[Nuro Alston]

Elevators (Me & You) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elevators_%28Me_%26_You%29)




Class.


Student sat slumped in seats. Eyes drifted from side to side, wandering for purpose. Tricks sparked under tables. Idle minds meddled with the array of abilities. Hands materialized into rocky substances for some, while others faded slightly only to re-materialize. Every on and off switch was being flicked, and from the surveyors eye it couldn't be more intriguing. What most of the students forgot in their quest for enjoyment were each other...for the most part.


Some took their attributes for ways of new forms of talking. Silly hand signals, and flirtatious displays of skills kept some of the class unfocused. The professor seemed not to mind. Instead of interject, there was a certain displeasure on her face that sent the message much louder than an angry scream. Most seemed to heed the look, but when her back turned to the board a few went back to their antics.


Usually, the time would go faster. The clock seemed to be motionless, and every tick separated by infinite. Restlessness was the key word to summarize the moment. No one wanted to be stuck in a class all day.


Although some preferred to see the very experience at Cullen Institute as one-big-lock-down, nobody at this moment rather be in the class. Only 3 minutes were left, and the lecture wasn't getting anymore interesting. Basically, they were ready to blow the roof off. One of the students even made a yearnful gaze at the nearby window as though she might jump through at any second.


Nothing about this was a laughing matter...well, except to one sap. A light snicker escaped a childish smile in the back of the class. Recline in his seat, the young man could do nothing but cover his mouth, as the inappropriate chuckle could do nothing but get him trouble. All the dismal faces, antics and disdain added up for a humorous scene from his director seat at the rear of the classroom. Everyone next to him pondered with raised eyebrows. Who laughed in the last 3 minutes of hell? Who?


"Nuro, shuttup," One whispered. The length of the mutant's tongue was almost disturbing as he spoke, yet a week had passed and Nuro had taken the unusual with the usual. All those shocking moments were reserved for powers were actually shown...which had been rare.


In spite of all the testerone that roamed the campus, few children meddled endlessly in their powers as he had expected. A lot rather move speedily than lightning-fast, or open doors instead of tear them apart. Noru had thought he was coming to an action-movie set or something, and all he got was a bunch of kids looking sad because a few minutes were going by too slow.


It was funny to him.


Before another hush could shut-down his laugh the class was let go. Folks dashed at the door like the fire alarm had been set off, allowing his restraint to let free. The laugh was loud, and proud as he gathered up his things and headed out. Nuro's headphones dangled at his neck as he shook his head knowingly. The sounds of Outkast ticked cooly in his ears. A jovial salute sent to his professor, and smooth gait set him free to the land of busy.


The hallways bustled with life. Faces of all kinds, some even feline, passed in bundles. Groups formed abound, while discussion roared about recent happenings. The events had become repetitive, but no less entertaining.


Nuro could do nothing less than smile. Another good day to mark on his schedule. Messenger bag wrapped over his opposite shoulder, he trekked through with a book in hand. The next class was about 2 hours away from what he saw on his Armitron, so he had time to waste.


Now, who to waste it on?

[RiffWrath]

If the students took note at the right moment, they would've seen a young man, old enough to drink, walking out of the main complex and into a side courtyard. The area had brick walls that were incredibly strong, and windows that were, due to some recent accident or other, reinforced. This would mean less broken windows. Which was good for the tattooed fomer rock star known as Mel Lodeus, who had the ability to manipulate the vibrations and kinetic energy that were most commonly associated with sound.

Cradled underneath his arms was a cardboard box, weighing around fifty pounds or so. If one could be close enough to read the label, they would see that it was an unopened bulk box of clay discs, known as skeets. They were usually reserved for shooting, and came with a machine that shot them into the sky. Mel carried, in his free hand, a hand-held skeet thrower. This way, he could have a hand free to fire at the skeets.

Mel sat the box down on a nearby concrete table. He flicked out a knife, the blade freshly sharpened. It cut easily into the box's seal. Slightly tattooed hands worked carefully, loading the skeet into the red plastic, pronged slinger, taking it up in his left hand. The skeet was ready to be launched.

The male, Caucasian guitarist took a deep breath, centering himself. After a few moments, he adjusted the black fedora, taking it off, and shaking his black, shoulder length hair. His hair away from his face, he pulled the hat back onto his head, making sure it was snug and tight before he continued.

Another deep breath came, focusing on his free right hand. He brought forth the kinetic energy from it, shaking it slightly. As his hand came to a stop, he could feel it humming with the unseen vibrations. He kept focused, and drew his left arm across his body, and quickly flung his hand outward. The red disc slinger flung the orange disc, outlined with a black frame, into the clear, white cumulus-clouded sky. The sun shined brightly in the sky, illumnating the bright-colored clay disc. The orange disc travelled in an arc, about fifty feet away, before Mel slowly brought his hand forward, snapping his fingers forcefully. The snap could be heard as a slight crack, like from a small cap gun. There was a small, tangible ripple in the air as the vibrating wave sailed through the air. As the disc reached about sixty feet, it flipped over, as if struck with some force, breaking slightly apart.

Mel cursed. He'd only clipped it. Disappointed a bit, the young man, began to load another skeet into the slinger.

[Nuro Alston]

Nuro had recently brought down the hair.

The bush of unkept hair dangling in a curly mess had grown tired. People began to notice him, although that wasn't inheritly a bad thing, he wasn't getting the attention he wanted. Once in a while a girl would compliment him, but that didn't make it easier with the guys. Jokes spread about his hair. All in good fun, of course, but too much of a good thing...well you get the idea.

Basically, he was sick of his hair and he did something with it. End of story...or at least he thought it was.

Some of those girls that complimented him were in the hall. They flashed a smile. Apparantly they liked the new look, but no words were exchanged. Everyone seemed to be in a rush, and he rather not keep them up. While the mutants were off to the races, he took to a halt to watch. Always the observer, Nuro found himself noting somebody meddling in the fields. The mutant was man, and not like the other men in the Institution. He was an adult - not some young student claiming to be one going through their puberty stage.

Yet, he was quite a pecuilar man. Awkward disc flung from some sling before he went to work on it. Nuro had never seen a skeet before, and he wasn't at all sure to what was going on.

Why would someone throw disc in the sky? Who exactly was this guy? And Why wasn't anybody scared of one of those disc lodging in their heads as a passerby?

Those were just a few of the questions swiveling about Nuro's mind, and it was all that was needed to fuel his steps. Before he knew it he was standing beside the skeet thrower with a curious eye, and open mouth.

"Ay...I'm Nuro--wha' is dis thing?"

[RiffWrath]

Mel hadn't heard anyone approach. He had merely reached for another clay disc, setting it into the launcher. Taking grip of it again with his left, a gloved hand slung the red launcher forward. The orange and black disc flew outward and into the air. As it spun into the air, Mel brought his right hand forward again, thumb and middle finger brought together to form a snapping motion. A simple snap of the fingers brought forth smaller vibrations this time, but with more control. The snap of the fingers reverberated into a loud crack, with about half the loudness of a gun going off. With a dry, reverberating crack, the vibrating waves of sound hurtled forward, rippling the air as they did. The disc was about fifty feet away when it exploded into a million pieces. Second shot of the day, and already he was hitting them! Mel smiled, congratulating himself.


"Ay...I'm Nuro--wha' is dis thing?"

Upon hearing his words, Mel jumped a little.

"Oh, hey man. I'm Mel. Nice to meetcha. And it's a clay disc, a skeet or a clay pigeon. They use 'em for target practice with guns. I'm tryin' 'em out with my mutant powers. I manipulate vibrations."

Mel reached out a free right hand to shake Nuro's.

[Nuro Alston]

Nuro was observant...

Nuro wasn't stupid...

No hand returned Mel's gesture. Instead he stared at it suspiciously. Already he had seen the capabilities of the man, and he rather not become like the clay disc. A knowing, yet understandable smile came to his face as he lifted his eyes back up. Only a second was given to add some slight suspense before he took to his response.

"Uh--I ratha' not...I seen whatcha can do," he chuckled.

[RiffWrath]

"Oh, it ain't like that, man. It's controlled. I usually need a snap of the fingers, or some motion, to start the vibrations. But I understand your reservations."

Mel pulled his hand back, and reloaded another disc into the launcher.

"Wanna toss a few for me? It'd give me a chance to try out my powers with both hands. And I have another launcher; you could launch two, and I could try to hit multiple targets. Don't worry, you won't be in the firing radius or anything. As a matter of fact, you'd be behind me, and I kinda throw out this imperviousness to the vibrations, like a nullifyin' field of sorts. Whaddya say?"

Mel smiled at Nuro, adjusting his black fedora.

[Nuro Alston]

A pleasant shrug was all Mel got in return. Nuro was still slightly disturbed by his powers. Not of course to the point that he was fearful, but definately unsure of himself. Yet, as soon as his indifference was shown, he changed his look up. Confidence crept in on his face as he took a gander at the slinger. He didn't know what the hell it did.

This was the first time he had encounter one in his short life. For a moment, not a word escaped the serious, straight line between his lips. Only when they arched for a smirk, did he finally speak his Brooklyn accent.

"Well, y'gotsa show me wat t'do, yaknow?"

[RiffWrath]

Upon picking up the disc thrower, Mel illustrated how it worked.

"You slide it in the prongs up top. Then you take the handle into your hand, and ya sling it into the air. Like a frisbee. The 'slinger'll remain in your hand, and the disc'll fly into the air. And then, it's my turn to try to blow the disc, or skeet, outta the air with my powers."

Mel turned the handle over, and handed it to Nuro. The first orange, clay disc sat in the prongs, ready to be tossed.

"Ya wanna give it a try?"

[Nuro Alston]

A curious eyebrow raised as Nuro's hand clasped on the slinger. Even though he understood it all, he was not at all familiar with the touch. Hopefully his first try wouldn't leave the disc flying off into someones head.

After a reassuring nod, he let loose, watching the disc dart off ahead. An inquisitive eye darted off with it, but in a different direction. Nuro wanted to watch as Mel showed off his powers. Vibration wasn't the easiest thing to detect, at least visually, but there had to be some way he could understand the pecuilar power.

[RiffWrath]

Mel prepared himself, watching Nuro's posture as he let the disc fly. As it sailed into the air, Mel moved his right hand slightly, pushing it into a brief tremble, or a shake at the wrist. He then snapped his arm up and forward, towards the area where the disc would be, ending the jerking motion with a snap of his fingers. The snap amplified itself into another crack, with the volume of a firearm discharging. The waves rippled as they spliced through the air, meeting the disc just as it entered the area, seventy five feet from them. With a crash, the disc exploded into a million pieces. Another smile came across Mel's face as the orange fragments of the skeet rained down to the earth, scattered by a light breeze.

Mel looked over to Nuro.

"Awesome throw, especially for your first time. Load up another one. I'll try a few more with the right hand, and then move on to the left. Then, if we get good at it, perhaps you'd like to try launching two."

[Nuro Alston]

For a second, Nuro watched amaze. The young Haitian mixed boy's gaze was anything less than intense as he cautiously took in the moment. After the jerks, and vibration, he felt the gears in his brain begin to work. Grind after grind forced a knowing smile before he stood back, and noted his own movement. Posture set, and mind's eye wide, he sketched how this one would play out.

After throwing in the disc, he pulled back as before, giving another gander at how Mel wouldn't handle it. From the looks of things, the man had a keen grasp of his skills. Nuro could almost say the same for himself...almost.

[RiffWrath]

With a whistle, another disk zipped into the air. Mel followed it with his hand, shaking the fingertips ever so slightly, adjusting the shake with the movement of the disc; the further away it went, the more Mel made them tremble, to enhance the intensity and range of the vibrating wave that would come.

With his hand pointing near the horizon, just where the disc would land, Mel snapped his fingers once more, summoning and releasing the flowing vibrations. There was a louder whoomp as the wave rippled from his hand, actually pushing Mel's hand back from recoil. The wave rippled the air much more visibly than before, the power of the kinetic energy propelling it forward.

As the skeet nearly crashed into a nearby branch, Mel's wave took it out, nearly disintigrating it. It also took out the large, six-inch thick branch, severing it and causing a ruckus as the birds escaped the tree. Mel blinked, his mouth held wide open in shock, his hat blown crooked from the blast.

"Whoa! Did ya see...!"

He looked over in shock to Nuro.

[Nuro Alston]

Surprise had become a wasted cause with Mel. The man's sensational powers could never be dull, but definately unsterood. In spite of the show, Nuro remain composed as he gander over to catch Mel's expression. The slight shock gave the Haitian enough reason for a smirk, and raised brow. All the shock was jarring, especially since the powers came from the same man taken aback. For a second, it quietly baffled the mutant. However, experience had set Nuro in the same position before. A number of times had rattled his view on reality, especially with an imagination that came to life like his own.

Although he was taken by thought, Nuro was quite enganged by the moment. Yanked back to the present by a shift of his emotions, he let out a silent laugh. It was quite humorous to see how cocked his hat had become from his overwhelming blast. After a roll of his eyes, the imaginative mutant kneeled down beside the skeet-thrower. Nuro's eyes shot back up with a pleasant smile to accompany them, as he opened his New Yorkan tongue for speaking once more.

"So y'wanna try dat 'gian?"

[RiffWrath]

A gloved hand adjusted the brim and tilt of the black fedora. Mel chuckled, hearing the fellow New Yorker's words.

"Hell, yeah."

He scooped up another neon orange, clay disc into his hand, and held it out to Nuro.

"Lock and load, man."

[Nuro Alston]

Nuro gave another smile. Before another blink could be made, he was locked and loaded. No seconds were wasted; it was clear he had this down. One step back, and hands in his pockets, he watched once more as the man went on to show his skills.

It wasn't getting any less interesting. There was definately something worth-while about this all. Even if he was missing some of his class, his time was being used wisely.

[RiffWrath]

Mel blinked as the guy practically had it ready in no time.

"Wow. That was fast, man. You ready?"

Mel prepped his hands, flexing them by his sides, touching the tips of his fingers together. The wind seemed to blow slightly, swaying the leaves back and forth through the trees, and even down to what was left of the limb that Mel had shattered not moments before.

He was ready when Nuro was.

[Nuro Alston]

Nuro grinned as he yanked, and he pulled. He was definately ready.

And so...he yanked and he pulled once more.

Then he yanked and pulled a third time.

By the fourth try it was quite apparant that something was wrong. Nuro's face scrunched in confusion, but he gave the skeet another attempt. Under the imagined black cloud the pull and yank became far more than a simple excercise of muscles. In a school where children bore powers that could leaves walls meaningless, and the heavens boundless, outbursts of abstraction wasn't all that surprising.

However, Nuro was absolutely shocked as the skeet was swarmed by a dark matter. Almost like a mist, or fog of darkness emit from his hand, holding ever so tight on the skeet, shadow the device in a magical display. The skeet's shadow could be seen beyond the foggy-like substance, and as the seconds passed became disfigured. All the assortments of the skeet-thrower were reformed, and with a sudden change in pace were revealed as the substances slunk back into Nuro's palms.

What was left behind was a...

Jetpack.

[RiffWrath]

Mel had expected some of the discs to begin their flight. But he didn't expect for them to somehow transform into some sort of.....What the hell is that? Some kind of jetpack? The young man couldn't hold his shock in.

"What the....how did you do that? Is that a....jetpack?"

Mel blinked, and then found himself laughing.

"That is awesome!"

The New Yorker found himself looking at the design.

"Can it fly? Does it work?"

[Nuro Alston]

If such surprises hadn't been routine at one point for Nuro, he would have been as shocked as Mel. Instead, he was simply wide-eyed...for a second, or two. Despite his practice, training, and occasional test, he hadn't made such a mistake in a while. Rarely did his imagination get away from him, but what could be done about it?

Although he had become a bit comfortable with his surroundings, he still felt exposed like it was the first time. Mutant powers weren't exactly normaly in the world beyond the Institute, and stepping into the little patch of earth didn't destroy the norms at large. However, he was quite confident in his skill, so with little heed he pardon himself with a smile and backed away a step.

"Why don'tcha try it out, eh?"

[RiffWrath]

As a breeze tossed Mel's hair about, he looked at Nuro, a bit more shock on his face. The shock quickly became giddy excitement.

"Really?! Oh, sweet!"

Mel quickly knelt down to scoop up the jetpack, and began to strap it onto himself, slowly and carefully, so as not to accidentally find the trigger or the on-switch to activate and send him flying out of control into something too solid to walk away from.

"Now, how does this thing work?"

[Nuro Alston]

"Hmmm..."

Nuro bit at his bottom lip as he studied the device. Although it came from his own mind, he wasn't all the way clear as to work the contrapment. It wasn't like he had come from Jetpack 101 class or anything. So, as he had always done before, he began feeling around. Running his hand across the jetpack in search of a button, he finally found one with a confident smile.

One push, and hell broke lose...

Well, something like that. Instead of a body rocketing to the sky, it came to the earth with a triumphant thunk. The jetpack that was reformed into a cinderblock backpack. Surprised as before, his eyes grew wide as he stumbled to Mel's rescue, trying to catch him before he fell.

[RiffWrath]

Instantly, the backpack became heavier than lead. Mel knew that something was wrong, and tried his best to maintain his footing and his balance. But when something suddenly becomes that much heavier, it becomes difficult, if not altogether impossible. Waving his arms to maintain his balance, Mel fell backwards to the ground with a hard thud.

A groan escaped his lips, as he looked up at Nuro.

"Well, that sucked. But, coulda been worse. Coulda actually worked, and I hit a tree at Mach Five or somethin'."

[Nuro Alston]

"O' end up in da Bronx," he said, yanking away at the strings that kept the cinderblock on Mel's back. Despite his successful pulls, his mind was elsewhere. It had been a while since his powers had gone haywire on him. He always had such great control, or at least he thought so.

Of course it was that time in the subway...

"We gunna needa new skeet o' somethin."

[RiffWrath]

A shrug of the shoulders, and Mel dismissed the notion, helping Nuro work the straps from his back.

"Nah, I have an idea. Step back a bit."

Upon Nuro stepping back and Mel moving him back a bit, he quickly and savagely motioned to the ground in a snap. The sound echoed like the crack of a shotgun, and the cinderblocks shattered into pieces easy to toss by hand. A sizable pile of rubble remained.

"We'll just use these. They'll fly faster, and'll be harder to hit. It'll help with aim, precision, and speed."

[Nuro Alston]

At first, Nuro laughed. How could someone shatter cinderblock so easily? It was only by luck the two had dropped it into pieces, but then as the strings of his memories were put together he remembered. Mel had a unique power. A power that Nuro had never seen before, leaving too much intrigue for the young alchemist to back away. So, with a resistant smile, he gave a slight nod.

"Aiite...aiite, lets do it den," he grinned, his accent coming through once more. Shaking his head in disbelief, he kneeled to the ground and picked up some of the pieces to throw. In seconds time everything was set up again, and he watched with curious eyes. Before he was surprised, but if Mel pulled this off he would be shocked.

So, with a jolt and a grunt, he pulled back and let the rocky block loose. Eyes wide open, and senses attuned, he gave a side-way glance to Mel, awaiting the boom.

[RiffWrath]

Mel followed the rock's ascent, and as he readied himself, he lost it in the sun. No boom came as he drew his hand back.

"I lost it in the sun. Oh well. There's plenty here to toss around. Give it another go, bro."

Mel shook his hands again, loosening them up and limbering his fingers.

[Nuro Alston]

A habit was starting to be built. All Nuro had to do here was pull back, give a little sound, and he was entertained. It was sort of like some corky expirement was being tested out, or at least to him it was. Everything seemed too mechanical for him, so he went with his emotions. In any case where habits were being built, actually, he went with his emotions. Nuro was a true believer in instincts, and he tried to go with them everytime.

So, with little heed, he glanced down at Mel's hands and stared. Using the silence as a tool of his curiosity, he stared a bit longer, while his eyes asked for understanding. There were so many powers in the Institute, but he rarely got explainations.

What was this guy's hands all about?

"How'dja...find out...?"

[RiffWrath]

Mel looked over the horizon, trying to figure out what exactly to say. Moments later, he had the words, and looked back to Nuro.

"Well, I was in a platinum-selling rock band. I was their guitarist. Well, a few weeks ago, we had a big concert, and I started playin' my riffs, and they amplified themselves beyond what the amps or speakers could ever put out. I shattered them, deafened the other bandmates, and injuired several when the powers activated. I have since come here to try and harness the powers, so that no one else will get hurt unnecessarily. Figured I owed them that."

Mel looked back out to the horizon, head deep in thoughts of the past.

[Nuro Alston]

For a moment it was silent.

Quiet.

Not a word was spoke. Mel's story broke the silence, but also created it in a dramatic way. The air grew thick, and Nuro didn't want to breathe. Instead, he stood there, looking into the horizion with the stranger.

Even though Mel had divulged so much, he still seemed pretty far away. A few blinks and Nuro was back to earth. Far from the depth of his thoughts, and back to his senses, he took in the air followed by a sigh. A smirk sled across his lips, like it often did, and he flipped the in his hand.

"No mo' o dis...we should try somethin...else..eh?"

[RiffWrath]

Mel snapped his attention from the horizon to Nuro, eyes turning to meet the Brooklynite.

"Yeah....sounds like a good idea, man. What's next?"