ic Wild Before The Light (IC)

[KnightDisciple]

By now, Micah's eyes were completely enveloped by the same green lightning-fire that formed his wings. He looked solemnly at Pan and Eira for a few moments apiece. Then he simply nodded. Without moving his arms or legs, his body rose in the air. The wind picked up and the temperature seemed to fall and spike at the same time. 

 

Micah rose further. HIs whole body became wreathed in a thin layer of green St. Elmo's Fire, and he stretched his arms out to the sides, even as his ethereal wings stretched out further still. Suddenly, the sky boomed, and a bolt of lightning struck Micah's left wing. Electricity surged over his body. If Pan and Eira looked closer, they would see Micah's eyes spewing tiny bolts of lightning even as his mouth twisted into a snarl of rage. 

 

Less then twenty feet from where his two friends stood, rain and sleet began to fall in sheets, extending hundreds of feet beyond, completely enveloping the mountain-top. Micah gained even more altitude, and was himself immersed in the weather. Rain quickly soaked his shirt, rendering it halfway see-through. His hair was slicked back by the wind and moisture. Sleet, and within moments chunks of hail, swirled around him in orbits like tiny moons. The ground beyond Pan and Eira's "safe zone" was hammered by merciless torrents of the same sorts of ice-chunks, many almost as large as a baseball. The clouds seemed to almost extend arms down to envelop the mountain peak; they shaped themselves into something halfway between a tornado and a hurricane, with lightning streaming all throughout the formation. Bolts kept striking Micah's wings, and as the storm raged on, small arcs of electricity snaked across his arms first, and then traced their way across his upper body. Smoke rose, and his shirt began to flash-burn at the touch of the raw power flowing over his body. 

 

The wind raged, and the sound seemed almost an echo of a person's scream of anger and helplessness, as Micah Roebuck let loose his rage, his sadness, and his helplessness into the storm he had summoned. 

[Avenger Assembled]

Eira looked up at the storm as she and Pan moved to a discreet distance, seemingly entranced by the flashing light reflected in her pale blue eyes as she wrapped her arm around her boyfriend's as the winds howled and the lightning crashed. "My body's neural framework is particularly vulnerable to massive EMP discharges like those," she murmured breathily. "Contact with them could cause complete structural breakdown." She didn't seem bothered by the prospect or for that matter the chaotic weather that surrounded them - fascinated was a better word. She turned to Pan and said softly, "I think this will help him. Not what you expected would happen when I called, yes?" She smiled, blue lips pulling back from her teeth, and admitted shyly, timing her words between claps of thunder, "When I called before, I was...going to do a little tease for you. Show you what I had on under my jacket, but you could not touch, you know?" Her hand was in the pocket of her big, bulky jacket, the sort she usually wore around campus that hid most of the lines of her body. 

[RocketLord]

Pan looked up as Micah flew away, and the storm began. His eyes followed his friend for a moment, until Eira wrapped her arm around him.

 

"Maybe we should find a cave to keep you safe, then. If you are vulnerable to something like that." His tone was somewhat flat, not really showing much emotion. His eyes lingered on Micah for a second more, before they returned to Eira. 

 

"Oh, a little tease now? You would amuse yourself with me, hm?" He pulled her close, whispering in her ear. "And what do you want to do now?"

[KnightDisciple]

Above the two young love-birds, Micah flew, oblivious to all but his own churning heart. The rains increased slightly, and the whirling hurricane-tornado-storm cylinder that surrounded the mountain-top solidified a bit. The lightning within the wall-clouds slacked just a bit. 

 

However, the lightning attracted to his body only intensified. Now, bolts struck his wings, his back, and his chest, while they flew from his outstretched fingertips. Micah was the heart of the storm now, and the storm, like his heart, raged. Raged against injustices done upon him, against nightmares from the depth of his mind, raged against his perceived failures.

 

He looked like he'd be a little while up there. 

[Avenger Assembled]

Eira looked up at Micah, eyes unfocusing for a brief moment, then looked back at Pan. "The nearest cave is miles away, but I can open the buildings here if you need something to keep you warm." She smirked up at him before adding, "What I want to do is...this." And then she reached down and unzipped her jacket, lightning above flashing in her light eyes as water pooled on her pale skin. 

[RocketLord]

Pan's grin widened. Just a bit wider than what seemed normal as he embraced Eira, leaning in close. "If that is your wish." His lips quickly found Eira's.

 

---

 

The storm howled. The clouds rolled over head. Only the lightning and their own source of light illuminated the two teenagers. Pan was lying behind Eira, holding her close, running a hand through her hair while he looked up at the sky. His upper body was still bare, Eira resting against him. He didn't seem all that bothered by the rain, or even seem to really notice it.

 

"I am curious: How many aunts and uncles will I have to fight off if they learn of this?" 

[Avenger Assembled]

"Well we will find out soon - I was livestreaming the whole thing," Eira lied glibly, her smirk threatening to split her face in twain. "Hah!" She sat up from where she'd been resting her head on his lap and zipped up her jacket again, leaning against the Forever Boy with a look on her face like a cat who'd gotten the fish. "My first sex talk was from a bisexual ghost, the second from a repressed robot, the third from Miss Americana. They will be understanding. I will not go telling them for a while anyway." She looked up at the still-raging storm above them and said, "It will make for such a story when I do."  

[RocketLord]

Pan's entire body tensed. His arms were still around Eira, but not relaxed as the moment before, his hands pausing in her hair.

 

"Is that all I am, then?"

 

There was a certain edge to his voice, one that Eira had rarely heard. 

 

"Am I just a story to be told?"

[Avenger Assembled]

Eira frowned at Pan and said more seriously, "I will not tell anyone if you prefer privacy." She patted Pan's arm, shifting where she sat for a moment to look at him, then added tentatively, "You are a very sweet boy with a very large heart - and you are very pretty." She considered for a moment, then added, "And while my knowledge of what we just did was primarily theoretical, you were very-hm." She smirked, licked her lips, then added, "You are very real to me, and you are also a very good story." 

[RocketLord]

"I do not care about who knows and does not." Pan shook his head, reaching for her hand where she patted him, grasping Eira's hand firmly. "But I do not want to be just a story to tell, not just something to use to amuse others."

 

He leaned down closer, kissing her forehead lightly. "I care a great deal about you. I do not want you to see me as just a story."

 

Pan's voice had softened again while he spoke, and his lips once more spread into a grin. "But yes, you felt very real to me as well."

[KnightDisciple]

As the young couple talked and basked in each other's presence, the storm slowed. As they declared how real the other felt to them, the hail and lightning stopped. The winds died off and the clouds began to disperse. 

 

If Pan or Eira looked up, they would see Micah, no longer shrouded in lightning but still supported by his wings, holding his hands out. His eyes were closed in concentration, and sweat ran down his face. His lips moved soundlessly as he appeared to concentrate deeply on something. A moment's thought would make it obvious; Micah was doing his best to ensure no permanent harm came of his outburst. He was seeking to reset the weather patterns on and around the mountain, where his powers had touched it, back to what they were. It seemed to be a matter of great effort, but the clearing sky suggested it was effort well-spent. Finally, the last traces of the weather-controller's emotional release were gone, and he lowered his arms with a nod of his head. 

 

At which point the wings on his back flickered out, his eyes drifted closed, and he began to fall from the air. 

[RocketLord]

"Did everything turn quiet all of a sudden, or is it just me?" 

 

Pan kind of didn't want to say it, but quiet meant Micah was done, didn't it? Quiet meant he had raged and yelled and... Well, Pan half expected him to be hovering over them, with a disapproving look. He was wrong, of course. Micah did not seem to see them, as he remained high above them.

 

And then he fell.

 

In a second, Pan had freed himself from Eira. He took another second to send her an apologetic look. Then, he was gone, a trail of golden dust leading up, circling towards Micah. 

 

However fast Micah fell, Pan was faster. Grabbing on to his friend, he pulled up, slowing his fall. No abrupt snaps, nothing that could harm him, slowly descending to reach the ground. 

[Avenger Assembled]

Eira looked up to watch Pan catch Micah, her face shadowed in the dark, and then commenced the quick, efficient process of getting herself dressed again. It was a simple enough matter when there hadn't been much to your outfit anyway, and by the time Pan and Micah touched down Eira was back in her tight jeans and long, bulky jacket. "Is he well?" she asked, looking over the fallen teen. "There is a hospital to the north but they might ask us questions. It might be wiser to return to Freedom." 

[KnightDisciple]

At first, Micah was completely non-responsive. Pan caught his friend without much hassle, and was able to bring him to the ground without a fight. The teenage weather-controller lay still for several moments; his chest rose and fell gently with his breathing. He had no wounds or burns on his body, though his shirt was completely gone. 

 

Suddenly, he sat straight up with a gasp. It was a gasp of a man coming up for air, moreso than one of fear.

 

"Okay wow. Gah. Uh. Whew. Okay."

 

Micah blinked several times and shook his head. Slowly, he raised the goggles from his eyes and blinked.

 

"You two okay? I, uh, kind of went all-out there. Yikes. Good thing I didn't do that at school."

 

If there was some sort of 'glow' or the like about his friends, Micah didn't notice. At least for now. He seemed more occupied with waking up and getting his bearings.

[RocketLord]

"Yes, you did. It was quite a show." Pan glanced at Eira while he spoke, though his eyes quickly returned to Micah. "Sit still for a moment."

 

He had been kneeling by Micah, but instead stood up and walked behind him while his friend got his bearings, the shirt and jacket of his uniform quickly returned as he finished walking around Micah.

 

"No bumps or anything on the back. Can you stand? Can you fly back?" He looked over at Eira, grinning at her, before shifting the grin to Micah. "Or do you need some Pixie Dust?"

[Avenger Assembled]

Eira smiled too, quickly, before looking down at Micah and trying her best to keep an insufferably pleased expression off her face .(She was not very good at it.) "You certainly spent your energy, yes?" She winked at Pan and added, "I should visit your room more often. It is good therapy for you. We should not linger - the unusual weather was noted by local radar," she added diffidently.  

[KnightDisciple]

Micah waved Pan off.

 

"I can move on my own and fly."

 

He stood up with a groan, then stretched for just a second and rolled his shoulders. At Eira's question-statement, he blinked and tilted his head.

 

"Um...kind of? I'd need a few minutes before making weather that big again, I guess." 

 

Suddenly he realized he had no shirt, and actually seemed to almost shrink on himself as he crossed his arms over his exposed chest.

 

"Leaving now is good."

 

He lifted in the air, the winds themselves bearing his weight, only a faint green glow present instead of the glory of his wings in full. 

[RocketLord]

"If you say so." Pan stood up straight again, looking to Eira as Micah set off. He reached a hand out to her, his lips splitting into a wide grin. "Shall we?"

 

If Eira took his hand or not, he set off, quickly moving to catch up to Micah. He looked to Eira first, the wide grin still on his lips, before it slowly faded as he looked at Micah.

 

"Did it help?"

[Avenger Assembled]

Eira flew with Pan - she'd shown him how slow and wobbly her magnetic flight was away from a large city and was content to take his hand and thoroughly fail to suppress a smirk. "Maybe we should stop by the window of that girl you like, hmm?" She laughed, squeezing Pan's hand, and said, "It has been an exciting night already - but as we are already in trouble most likely, why not see what else we can do?" 

[KnightDisciple]

At first it was like Micah didn't hear Pan's inquiry; he simply flew on, not even looking back at his friend. But finally, he spoke.

 

"Yeah. It did. Head feels clear."

 

Then Eira flew up and suggested he stop at Judy's window, and Micah nearly fell from the sky such was his shock and...embarassment?...at the question.

 

"What? W..why? What! No, that's-no! Why would I stop outside her window! The best case is we both get embarassed, and then her sister shoots me! Assuming she doesn't just shoot me before I can say anything! Besides, what am I going to do, hover there and flex?"

 

He looked down at himself again, and once more crossed his arms over his body.

 

"Besides. No shirt. Just...that's, like, creepy."

 

His next words were soft, but Micah's night had been emotional enough the other two could hear him still.

 

"Not like there's a lot to look at anyways."

[RocketLord]

"Yes! That is a great idea! That is just what you should do! Hover and flex, in just that order. It works wonders, my friend!"

 

Moving up ahead of Micah and pulling Eira along, Pan shook his head, grinning widely from ear to ear.

 

"You have nothing to be ashamed of, my friend! You look good! Does Micah not look good, Eira?" He gestured to Micah with his free hand while he spoke. "What is the worst that can happen? Aside from Ashley shooting you? If it is a shirt you need, then I can fix that!" A quick snap of his fingers, and Micah seemed to be wearing a bright green t-shirt, with a white lightning motif all over it.

[Avenger Assembled]

"Take a chance," said Eira, who definitely was in an uncommonly good mood tonight. "You might like what you find." She winked at Pan and then giggled, snorting through her nose until she had to cover her mouth. Along the way back, she considered their options, a half-smile lingering on her face, before she said, "We should go directly to the Headmistress's quarters and turn ourselves in." She was talking to Pan as the Freedom City skyline was becoming visible, with Claremont only a few minutes away, her silvery wings spread out behind her. "That way no one will be paying attention to Micah."

[KnightDisciple]

Micah flew quietly, his face uncertain, for several long moments. Then, he nodded once.

 

"Okay."

 

He nodded again, several times, his arms uncrossing as he did. Faint wings of light grew behind him, unnoticed by the young weather controller. 

 

"I'll just say hi, and see if she's doing okay. It seems like she's had a rough year."

 

He looked back at Pan and Eira, his face still a mix of emotions.

 

"I'll just have to hope Ashley's not too quick on the trigger."

 

As they drew near to the campus, the air thickened just a bit. 

 

"I'll pull in some mist and clouds to make things a bit less obvious. Tonight's weather was a bit weird before my little display, so it shouldn't be a big issue..."

 

He didn't seem to have heard Eira's plan to divert herself and Pan to the on-campus residence of the Headmistress. Instead he focused on giving them light cloud cover as they descended, and a gentle, rolling mist around the dorm building as he slowed down and hung in the air next to Judy and Ashley's room, his ethereal green wings flapping (albeit too slowly to really keep him airborne, at least if they were real wings) as he reached out and hesitantly knocked on the window....

[Avenger Assembled]

After a moment's pause, the reflective window slid open partway - and Judy's wide-eyed face appeared in the space. Of course he hadn't needed to rap too loudly or worry about a long response time - on late nights like this Judy just sat up in her bedroom and read. And prayed. 

 

"Micah, what are you doing?" she whispered, peering behind him as if trying to see if the world was on fire. "Did something happen?" She glanced behind her and whispered, "Should Ah wake up Ashley?" 

[RocketLord]

"Yes, yes. Off to the headmistress with us. We will buy you some time, my friend! Best of luck!" 

 

His hand holding Eira's tight, he shifted direction slightly from Micah's, parting before anyone would see them arriving together. No, it would just be him and Eira returning to Claremont all on their own, drawing more attention than they would usually need to. Yes, that would be good.

 

That, and still just being close to Eira.