Secret Identity

(( That's fine:)!))

Dalia/ Mistique

I ran off silently, feeling against the walls for either the bathroom or an empty classroom. A little further down the hall, I found it, and ducked inside. Now was my chance to escape as Mistique. Just as I finished dressing as Mistique, I heard a slight whirrr and saw the lights flicker. I ran out as the lights dimmed, then slowly turned off completely. I knew the teachers would have the generator running in a minute, and I'd have to get to my escape route quickly.

I was only half way there when I heard the generator start to hum and come to life, so I stowed away in the nearest empty hallway. The lights clicked on and students stopped screaming and went to class. I smiled as I watched them all disappear, ready to sneak out the instant they were gone.

"Mistique?" I heard behind me.

I turned slowly. It was the girl from second hour, looking winded and tired with something in her hand. I stared pointedly at it and she stuffed it in her bag.

"How do you know I'm Mistique?" I asked her.

Kara/Electrum

Electrum was in the generator room of the school, looking at all of the electrical power in front of her. This should suffice. She stuck her hand directly into the generator. Her head snapped back as electrical energy surged through her, energizing her. She drained the generator of all of its energy.

Her heair began to crackle with static electricity. She was still exhausted, but in about a half an hour she'd be completely energized again. She hurriedly changed into her day clothes and slipped out of the generator room. Her return went by unnoticed. The hall was completely dark. Students were screaming and running around the hallway. Kara walked down the hallway, and felt someone broush past her, seeming in a hurry and quiet. Then the lights came back on.

She saw someone slip into an empty hallway. Kara was curious, and followed them into the hall. She saw the unmistakable costume of Mistique, going away from her. Kara's eyes widened. "Mistique?" The figure froze and turned around. That was when she realized that she hadn't put her costume in her bag. She stuffed it inside quickly. "How do you know I'm Mistique?"

Kara was silent for a moment. Mistique looked like she was going to hurt her if she didn't answer soon. "Mistique, I'm Electrum." She blurted out. Mistique looked like she didn't believe her. Kara was deperate. "I'll prove it!"

Mistique nodded. "You'd better do that." She seemed cautious. She sighed. This was risky, to be doing something like this in the middle of a public school, with low energy. But if she didn't, there was no telling what Mistique would do. She held her hand out, palm up. A bolt of pure electricity shot from her hand, and floated in the center of the room. Then it began taking on different shapes. One minute it was a cube, the next it was a heart.

It continued like this for a full minute, and Kara sucked the energy back into her. She stumbled. She may have the electricity back, but electricity wasn't her only source of energy. All she wanted to do was sleep. "Convinced now?" She panted.

((Now's a chance for this to get interesting. If someone wants they could have a villan witness Kara's little show. Only a suggestion.))

((Okay, so Electrum and Mistique know their identities, and so do Death and Flux. No more as yet, at least not until after the superheroes' meeting tonight, which will be... interesting.))

Cara/Death

Java took off his glasses, and Cara gasped even before he'd said the words.

"I'm Flux."

She was too shocked to speak. She was aware of a tear trickling down her cheek, but she couldn't move her hand to brush it away. Cara hadn't cried since the night she'd lost Rose, and the tears flowed now like they had then. Slowly, slowly down her face. And then finally, she looked away.

"We need to talk," Java muttered, and his voice snapped Cara back to reality, back to Death. She faced him.

"That we do. Follow me. I know a place."

She set off, hearing his footsteps behind her. There had been a moment there when she'd thought he was a villain, someone to kill. But Flux? That changed everything. If he was Flux, and he was Java, then who was she? Cara, or Death?

She shoved him into the storeroom first, flipping a light switch as she slammed the door. The sound made her jump.

"I figure, you know something, you know everything. So just look."

Cara took a deep, shuddering breath, and began to peel away her top.

"Cara, I'm not sure - " Java began, before he saw the scars. Even in the poor, fluorescent light, Cara could see the shock on his face. She winced, but only slightly.

"Last year. Tried to slit them. Didn't work." It was short, matter-of-fact. "You don't know who I am, Java; you don't know what immortality is yet. I never told the team, but now I'm going to tell you. Even if you don't want to be told."

((There's a list of Cara's battle wounds on her profile, if you want to look, Aqua.))

((I'd have Nick/Mynah see, but he's outside in the sleet with Mel right now))

Java/Flux

"You don't know who I am, Java; you don't know what immortality is yet. I never told the team, but now I'm going to tell you. Even if you don't want to be told."
I was shocked. But not for the reasons she thought, not because of her wrists, I started to explain.
"Cara, it's ok, it's ok. I - I guess I'm not too surprised about your wrists, I guess I kind of knew."
"What? How?" she looked surprised and her mask slipped again.
"Whenever you're fighting, whenever you're killing, you look so...envious of the dead. I understand, you seem like you've been through a lot, more then I ever will. And I will never judge you for that. Ever.
I felt fierce when I said that, kind of protective of her, like I wouldn't let anything hurt her again. Thinking that, I touched the deep, deep scar on her stomach.
"How did you get this one?"
"I was stabbed," She replied "badly."
I exhaled loudly, and, seeing her wince, I grabbed her wrist.
"Cara, if you want to tell me your story, go ahead, I'll listen and you'll feel better. Believe me."
I looked at my watch quickly.
"But don't make it over an hour, we have to meet the team then."
She laughed shortly. "I'll try and break it down for you."

*Think I got the scar right? feel free to correct me.*

Mel

Mel's fingers began to turn blue. She had tried to bend the sleet away from their backs but every time the wind changed Nick frowned oddly. She decided not to, in case she suspected anything. The last thing she needed was someone finding out about her powers.

She shrugged and ducked slowly from the window, hiding below the ledge. "I don't know about you, but I'm ditching again."

"Ditching is what got us here in the first place," Nick said sternly. She shot upright again, glaring in the window at Mr. Thompson.

"Sirrrrr!" she yelled through the sleet. Mr Thompson whirled around suddenly in shock.

"Oh, you're still there? Your class ended ages ago. You may-"

"Sweet!" cried Mel, jumping up and slamming the window shut, making a face at Mr. Thompson as he turned around tp face his class again. They quickly made their way to the door, for warmth and shelter.

Dalia/ Mistique

I admit, I was a little shocked. But then I began piecing everything together. I took a deep breath and peeled off my mask.

"Have you guessed yet that regular old Dalia is really Mistique?" I asked.

She looked a little surprised at first but then realization dawned on her face.

"Now I do," she said, chuckling a little.

"Why aren't you too in your classes?" A sharp voice said behind me.

I felt color drain from my face as I tried to slyly put my mask on and answer at the same time.

"I-I-I was ummm...giving her her homework she left uh, at home, because I'm her sister," I said, whirling around to face the teacher.

He looked me up and down, giving me the creeps. "And you're dressed as a superhero because..."

"Umm... because..."

Kara

"Because she came straight from home. Our little brother loves playing superhero. If we don't dress up when we play he throws a fit." Kara supplied. The teacher didn't look convinced, but Kara didn't break eye contact with him.

After a moment he sighed. "Get to your class." Kara nodded and walked past him, shot a smile at Mistique, and hurried to her class, sitting down in her seat at the back of the class. She was exhausted, and found herself drifting off.

((Yeah, you got it right, Aqua. I'll try to wrap this up so we can get back to the classes.))

Cara/Death

"I'll try to break it down for you."

Cara smiled bravely, blinking a couple of times as Java let go of her wrist. She wondered at how he went so quickly from the ferocity of his earlier attack on her to the gentleness that now rested in his eyes. Sometimes he could be both, and again Cara was overwhelmed with that feeling of safety.

"When my sister -" It was a terrible place to start. Cara swallowed the lump in her throat and began again. "After the car crash, I realised that whatever happened to me, I couldn't heal. I'd bump into things, get papercuts, but they'd never bleed - just open up and stay there. My skin's rotting, Java. It's been rotting since that night."

She waited a moment for that to sink in, then began again.

"This wound on my stomach was just a mistake. I fought alone before the team came together, and this is what happens when you make mistakes and you have nobody to back you up. Difference is, I have to live with it. The wound'll never heal." Cara took a breath. "I don't feel it, you know. I can't feel anything. No pain. You can touch me, but I can't tell whether you're checking for my pulse or strangling me. It's a big empty hole of nothingness and I don't know... I can't even remember what it feels like, Java. Pain."

The bell rang then, but the silence in the room was palpable. Cara wished she knew what Java was thinking.

"We'd better get to class. Hopefully we won't have been missed. You're in my next class anyway. Let's go."

Java/Flux

It was a shock to turn into the crowded corridor, it was the same corridor I'd walked for years, the same faces I'd always seen. But it felt so different. I guess it was because of Cara walking beside me, and the fact I probably knew more about her than anyone did. That made me feel wierd.
I had never thought about what being immortal meant before, I guess I had thought it was kind of cool, never having to worry about being injured. But from what Cara told me, my mind was a bit different now.
I looked down at her face, she seemed troubled and nervous. Wishing that I was a mindreader, I bumped her with my shoulder.
"Guess the meeting tonight will be interesting, huh?"
She nodded and smiled a little.
"Guess it will."
We both chuckled quietly together as we took our seats at the back of the class.

Nick/Mynah

"Thank g-goodness," Nick stuttered as they stepped into the dry warmth of the school. His teeth were chattering horribly. "We might have gotten pneumonia if we stayed out in that for much longer."

"Aw, come on. You're overreacting, Nick. It's not even that cold outside."

"Yeah, but still." He stuffed his hands in his pockets. "That Mr. Thompson really is horrible; someone should do something about him."

Mel gave him an odd look. "What do you mean, do something about him?"

"Just... teach him a lesson, I don't know." He seemed to deflate a little. "It's not like that's going to happen. I certainly can't do anything."

"Cheer up. Lunch is after next period. Maybe they're serving something almost appetizing today."

"With our luck, they'll probably be serving grilled roadkill," he grumbled, following Melissa to their next class. Every year when it came time to make up their schedules, Mel and Nick tried to get every class together that they could. They usually did a pretty good job of it too.

((So when's this next superhero meeting?))

((I'm going to post a little paragraph moving us all on to the night, but I'm not sure everyone's ready yet. Is everyone ready yet? I think we're going to meet the villains this time around.))

((I'm ready, but that's me.))

^^ seconded

((Yay! I'm ready, but I won't be able to post my villain until tonight at the earliest.))