Xavier looked at the sun again and then glanced back at Akeli. "I'm pretty sure that's the way. North is over there," he said, pointing to his left. The soft thud of his wings and Akeli's calmed him as they continued through the sky. He grinned when she laughed and rolled away from him. He folded in his right wing slightly and banked to follow her. With a few powerful strokes of his wings, he climbed higher than her.

When he balanced himself right above her, he concentrated on following the strokes of her wings. He glided down even more and perfected himself right above her, legs dangling behind him because of their speed. He reached his hands down and lightly ran his fingers along the membranes of her wings, running his fingers over the soft feathers that were closer to her back.

"I could get used to this," he said quietly into her ear.

____

Shay's eyes lightened at the mention of food. He took in the girl warily, hazel eyes uncertain as he did so. Fake. He nodded to her, his body withdrawn upon himself in what seemed to be fear. He let his hand rest against the side of the tree before he pushed himself to stand up. His fingers ran along the edges of the rough bark, tips dipping into the gashes he had made in the tree.

"Okay," he said softly as he let his hands stray to his sides

Akeli had begun to tone out the surrounding noises, concentrating mostly on the gentle thump of her wings cutting the air. It felt amazing to have her feathers being aired out by the light zephyrs of the sky. It had seemed like they were growing musty from disuse. Arching her back Akeli didn't notice Xavier's movement and felt a small electric shock shoot through her body at his touch. Just about ready to set herself on fire Akeli felt a touch of a breath on her neck, followed by a comforting voice.

"I could get used to this."

Smirking Akeli caught a thermal and began coasting, stretching out her wings with a soft sigh. "I certainly could as well," she added softly, a smile tugging at her lips. Letting out a small giggle she lifted a foot and knocked Xav's good ankle with it, gray eyes mischievous. 

--

"Yeah, food. It's at my place though, so you'll have to come along. I could leave you here but I'm unfamiliar with this part of the woods, and I don't want to accidentally leave you." Grinning lightly Sara stood and scratched her head, realizing a predicament. By now her parents were awake.

"You know, how about I take you to the edge of the woods and then I get the food and some aspirin or something. Would that be alright?" She felt wary about leaving him on his own, forgetting about the fact that Shay was perfectly capable of protecting himself. 

The cool breeze that flowed around them made Xavier's blue feathers rustle slightly. He smiled when Akeli replied to him and on their next downstoke, let his wings brush against hers. She giggled and knocked her foot into his which caused him to grin even wider. When he tore his gaze from her auburn hair that streamed behind her in the wind, his intense blue eyes cast themselves forward.

The sun had inched its way even higher into the sky, harsh rays dousing both of their bodies with light. The forest below them spanned out endlessly and Xavier's blue eyes twinkled as he looked down at the pine-topped trees. "We could just stay in the forest, you know." Xavier found himself murmuring. "But I want to travel around the world, see everything." he continued, blue eyes gliding down toward her back again.

____

Shay just nodded at Sara, too weak-willed and tired to say anything else. His mind had begun to clear, the last traces of the persuasive voice leaving him. In perfect clarity, he would have realized that it was the voice that changed his mood. It was the scientists that had the chip in him, making him bend to their will and change his emotions against his better judgement.

He scratched the back of his head and motioned for Sara to move on. "Thanks."

"But the forest is so enclosed," Akeli grumbled, and tucked her wings in to prepare for a roll. Curving gently Akeli slid out from underneah Xavier, flaring her wings to fly up to his height. Letting out a small laugh she rolled around again, this time closer to Xav. "And what would we live off, silly? Berries and nuts?" Chuckling she patted him on the cheek and dove under, reveling in the feeling of the wind caressing her auburn hair. Though she had been planning on cutting it Akeli knew she would miss this feeling.

"And I've always wanted to visit those lands I've heard of. The ones where the sun shines endlessly and the entire land is bathed in its light," Akeli murmured, blue eyes flickering upwards to gaze at the bright sun that illuminated the sky. "Do you know where they are, Xav?" she asked softly.

[Fail on my part] :c 

--

Sara laughed and shook her head. "No problem. Shay, is it? We should probably hurry before the sun gets any higher. The weather here can get pretty hot near summer." Waving a hand she trotted through the undergrowth, pausing to hold a tree branch out of the way of the path.

The boy hadn't looked too well, shivering and shaking like that, but now he seemed alright, if a bit fatigued. Giving him an encouraging smile and tilted her head in the direction her home lay in. "Just a hundred meters or so. We're almost there."

Akeli slid out from under him, but he was fine with the move. His blue eyes watched the way her feathers caught the sunlight, black feathers glinting lightly with copper flecks. "And what would we live off of, silly? Berries and nuts?" she asked him while she banked closer to him and lightly patted his cheek. The boy rolled his eyes as she dove back under him and let himself glide on a small thermal.

"It's not like there aren't animals in the forest that we could hunt or anything," he said with a hint of sarcasm, but his tone was warm. The air was silent for a moment longer and Xavier kept his gaze ahead, the blue sky rolling in with a few light clouds. He heard Akeli's words and thought to himself for a moment, blue wings snapping against the air.

He really wanted to say something corny, but that just wasn't him. Wherever we are is fine, you are my sun, Akeli. He grimaced at the horrid words that would no dout make her laugh; they even had him grinning softly. Instead, he said, "I'll find them for you, Aki."

_____

"Okay," Shay mumbled as he followed Sara through the woods. His thoughts drifted back to the bird-kids and he found himself looking above the tree-tops, wondering where they were. "Did you want to go with them?" Shay suddenly found himself asking Sara. He blinked his hazel eyes, not realizing he had voiced the question.

Akeli smiled gently and turned to look at Xavier, gray eyes bright with amusement. "You're sweet," she murmured, though there was a hidden undercurrent to her voice. Her lips twitched upwards for a moment before she let out a laugh. 

"You know what, before we do that. I...want to ask a favour. We don't have to do this if you don't want to, though." Akeli's smile faded as she nibbled her lip nervously, casting her eyes over Xav cautiously. For all she knew what she was about to ask could make him very upset, something she didn't want to do. But she also felt...bound to this.

Closing her eyes she sucked in a deep breath and swooped closer, wings brushing past Xavier's as she glanced at him nervously.

"Can we...go bust some more mutants out? I just want to blow something up, and a School sounds like the perfect target."

--

Sara glanced back and for a moment didn't understand the question. Blinking she shrugged after a moment and sighed. "Maybe, I don't know. How could I? They can freaking fly. I just...shoot vines out of my hand or something." Stifling a scowl at her newfound powers Sara slapped a branch in frustration.

"Don't you ever get the feeling that you're different from everyone else but you can't prove it? Like, it's there, and you can feel it, but no one else can?" 

His wings cut through the air steadily, the light breeze allowing him to coast longer. He turned his head toward Akeli and watched her move around in the air anxiously as she focused on her question. "Just ask, Aki." he said as he followed her movements. He pushed a few strands of hair out of his eyes and frowned slightly. He really needed to get his hair cut.

He heard her question then and his wings stilled for a moment, eyes closed as he contemplated. His hands tightened into fists and when he opened his blue eyes, they burned an icy blue. "I think busting some more mutants out is just what we need. We'll give them a message they'll never forget," he said firmly.

He unclenched his fists and shot a coy smile to Akeli. "You know," he said as he brushed his wing against hers. "When I escaped, I took a route near this one. There's actually a School nearby. I'll just have to try to remember where it is," he said with a light chuckle, blue eyes gleaming.

___

Shay listened to her miniature rant while they continued their walk. He felt himself begin to ease back into his more cautious self, the insanity almost disappearing from his mind. "I know they can fly, but I meant to just escape. To be free," he mumbled as he ducked his head down. "I just want to be free," he murmured softly, almost sure that Sara couldn't hear.

"I know exactly how you feel," Shay said as he glanced up at Sara. His hazel gaze wandered over the forest and he wished so badly that he could be normal. That he didn't have that chip in his neck which made him go insane whenever he disobeyed. They could change the way he thought and that wasn't freedom.

Today.
Now.

._.

"Escape," Sara murmured, brushing her hair out of the way so she could get a better look at Shay. "I've already escaped once," she said after a moment, not adding anything more to her irritatingly cryptic message. Shaking her head she stumbled out onto the grassy field that made up her backyard, pointing at the large house that dominated this patch of land.

"Over there," she said, scratching her neck rather awkwardly. "Uh, listen. I'm going to go into the house, get supplies and come back out. Hopefully my parents won't stop me, but if they do you can go or something. I probably won't get out again until nighttime." Frowning at the thought of leavingthis poor kid alone Sara padded ahead a few more steps, back turned to Shay.

--

Flexing her fingers Akeli smirked, gray eyes lighting up. "You better believe it," she growled. With a flick of her wrist she found herself holding a pulsing fireball, blue flames licking up the edges as the core burned white-hot. "I hope they have lots of flammable thing there. I've always been partitial to fireworks." With a laugh she flared her wings, pausing mid-flight to get a good look at their surroundings.

Forest stretched below them for miles, their emerald tops fading into the distance both behind and in front of them. Clouds of birds flapped below, their dark bodies dashing lithely through the branches. But to her left Akeli could see an odd patch of clear woodland, not a sound originating from that area. Sharpening her gaze, wincing as she did so, Akeli could just make out an odd white ob
ject that sat their, large and imposing despite being hidden behind a copse of trees.

"There?" she asked, pointing. 

What is she to you, Shay? Take her. Use her, Shay. She can feel the earth and track down the escapees. Take her, Shay. Take her, the voice suddenly urged into his mind and Shay stumbled backward slightly, but made no noise. He faltered in his steps before releasing a gutteral snarl. With Sara's back turned, he sprinted up behind her and brought his elbow down forcefully on her head.

Without seeing if he had knocked her out or merely dazed her, he swung his arms to the back of her knees and picked her up with ease. With a backwards glance at her house, he set off at a run into the forest. "Looks like you're escaping twice," he muttered, but his hazel eyes were uncertain, not carrying anger.

He was merely a servant to the voice.

__

Xavier found Akeli's giddy mood quite amusing and he watched as she flared her wings and soared above him. After a few moments of looking up at her attractive form, he opened up his wings and caught the updrafts to easily make his way up to where Akeli was. He followed her finger to the clear-cutted section of woodland.

"That's our place," he said with a smirk. He flapped his wings a few times, circling around her as he did so, before taking off in a controlled dive. When he gained enough speed that was at his liking, he pumped himself farther through the air. He knew Akeli would follow him, her blood-lust probably making her want to storm into the place and kill anyone who got in her way.

When he reached the fringes of trees that lay exposed on the land surrounding the building, he landed in one of the higher branches. He tucked his wings closer to him, but didn't slide them through the slitted holes in the shirt he wore. No, there would be no need for that here. His wings ruffled lightly with anxiety and excitement.

"Seem so," Akeli murmured, a bit of hope swelling in her chest. Following Xav's lead she banked left then dove, tucking her black-and-white wings into her back. There was a small popping noise as she gained speed, eyes and senses sharpened so she wouldn't miss the prime moment for stopping her dive. A feral growl escaped her throat, caught by the wind, as they neared the school. It seemed only moments before they approached the clearing.

Flaring her wings carefully Akeli stopped just above Xav, flipping her wings close to her back before dropping down next to him with customary feline grace. Gripping a branch above her wing one slender hand Akeli stared at the school blankly, though every muscle was tensed. She could only imagine what was happening in their right now, though the thought brought back a surge of unwanted memories. 

Mouth flattened into a thin line she glanced at Xavier, wondering if he had already come up with a plan. "So what do we start with?" she asked, crouching down. "Plain frontal assault where we kill anything wearing a labcoat, or sneak inside and let the mutants go?" 

"We'll blow up after I know I'm not killing a bunch of kids. Keep your wings silent and follow me," Xavier murmured in reply. He leaped nimbly off of the branch and opened his wings slightly to catch a few breaths of air. Keeping low to the ground, he flung his wings out to their full extent and rushed toward the building, kicking up dirt and sand behind him in the process.

When he neared the wall of the building, he flew as close to the wall as he dared and soared his way up to the roof of the school. When he reached the roof, he landed steadily on his feet and tucked his wings into his back. His blue eyes scanned the roof for any signs of security cameras, but all he found were air vents.

"Right," Akeli said with a snort, and followed suit. Snapping open her large wings she trailed after Xavier, wingbeats matching his own to fool any open ears as they neared the school. Winging her way up the wall she landed in a crouch next to Xav, glancing around.

"Air vents, we can use those," she said as loudly as she dared, smirking at her companion. Sharpening her eyesight she took a careful look at all the vents, hoping that the one they chose wouldn't end up leading to the Eraser bunker or something. Just as she was about to point out a potential entrance she felt something shift, and blinked in surprise. When her gray eyes opened again she was shocked to see that, well, the landscape was glowing.

"Damn, heat vision," Akeli muttered, rolling her shoulders as she swept her newly heightened sight around the area. Beneath the stone she could see moving shapes, some large and hulking, others slim and more humanoid. Evidentially she was looking at Erasers and scientists. Eyes flicked back to Xav and Akeli realized that he glowed red, not pale orange like the beings inside the building. So that meant that the stones and plaster of the School blocked some of her heat vision. But given what she could already see Akeli dismissed it as not being an issue.

Pursing her lips she focused on the area right below them, noticing with a wry smile that her own body was flaring deep crimson, much darker than Xav. And right below that she saw tiny forms that weren't moving beyond tiny shifts in position.

"Bingo," she murmured, glancing at Xav. "Want me to melt a vent cover open? I don't we'll move them otherwise." With that she tapped the nearest one lightly, one that apparently led straight to the room they wanted.

Xavier's blue eyes traced Akeli as he watched her scope out the building. His eyes flickered back over to the vents that shone silver in the bright sunlight that hit the roof harshly. When Akeli's movements grew more purposeful, Xavier cocked his head to the side and watched her. "Damn, heat vision." he managed to snatch out of the air and the boy grinned to himself.

When she rounded on him, his brows arched in their typical 'Xavier' fashion. "Damn Kitten, your eyes are red," he said as he rose. He approached her as she asked him the question, but for the moment, ignored it. "Stop being so beautiful, Aki. You're giving me a headache," he said with a lopsided smile. He let some of the pulsing aura (not jelly >C) flow onto his palm and let it smack onto the vent.

It stayed there for a moment and continued to do nothing. "What the hell kind of a power is this?" he muttered. His thoughts flew back to the very moment he was remembering before; when he was escaping. In his haste to get out, he had blindly thrown whatever energy he had and it had somehow burned half the face off of an Eraser.

His lips curled down in the corners and he realized when he found Akeli, he had been able to transfer some energy through the same jelly-like substance. "I was feeling angered then hopeless..." Xav mumbled to himself. He glanced down at his hands and his frown twisted itself back up into its usual cocky smile. He summoned up an image of Shay and even the thought of the boy sent rage boiling through Xavier's veins.

When he summoned the aura, it was an angry pulsating red. "Voila," Xav said as he let the substance slide from his hand onto the vent. As soon as it touched the other goo, the light green it had been before changed to the same fiery red. It sat there for a moment before a sizzling sound reached his ears. He grinned when the substance ate through the grate and dissolved upon itself when its work was done.

"I got it, Kitten." he said with a wink as he dropped down into the vent.

Scowling at Xavier's cocksure attitude she watched the gooey substance boil away the grate, leaving nothing but pitted metal around the edges. Touching it lightly she was startled the feel that there was a pulsing heat still there, though nothing that could have been made by fire. Raising her eyebrows she squirmed through after Xavier, landing neatly on the ground beside him.

Glancing around there was a feeling that could only be described as nauseous that entered Akeli's belly. Small forms whimpered and moaned in even smaller cages, their bodies hunched and a few even deformed. Walking over to one cage she knelt down and touched the tiny hand that flopped out, causing the tiny figure to mewl weakly.

Peering through the wire grate that made up the door to this crate Akeli found herself staring into brilliant purple eyes, the pupils slitted and deep black. The creature moved and its face was hit by weak sunlight, illuminating alabaster skin and a sharp, angular face. Cheeks sunken from hunger and lips trembling with fear.

"Who?" the girl whispered faintly, hand curling in Akeli's.

"We're here to bust you out," Akeli replied, squeezing the girls hand while she let her free one touch the metal gently. "Careful now," she muttered as she let a faint trickle of heat to seep into the mesh, the wires coiling. Flattening her palm she caught the molten metal, absorbing any leftover heat before setting he palm-printed hemisphere on the floor with a small clink.

"Can you open the other kennels?" Akeli asked, pulling out the child with as much care as she could. The tiny girl shivered and nodded. "Ghost powers," she stated proudly, a tiny, shy smile appearing on her face. "I can turn other people into ghosts too. But, my collar..." She motioned the metal band that encircled her neck, clasped by a thick rivet.

Frowning Akeli melted that too, wrenching the collar off and tossing it into the girl's old crate. "Start letting the more...intelligent ones out," she whispered, nudging the child in the right direction.

Glancing at Xavier Akeli stood and grabbed his hand, squeezing it. "I'm scared," she murmured, eyes pained. "What...what if we get caught again?" 

The smell of anisthetics made Xavier's spine tingle and he looked around the room, trying to keep his fear from showing in his eyes. Akeli made her way to one cage while Xavier knelt down near another, the small figure kept in the cage shielding its head. Something was off about the child and Xav realized with a twist of his stomach that the boy was hairless, sickly brown scales covering a few patches of his skin.

He glanced up at Xavier then and the blue-eyed boy cringed. The other male in front of him had two yellow eyes that took up most of the upper half of its head. Those two yellow orbs had pupils that were slitted like a snake's and the boy attempted to speak, but all Xavier got was a pitiful hiss to his ears and the look of what seemed to be a forked tongue sliding out of the child's mouth.

"I'm sorry," Xavier murmured as he went to open the cage. The creature hissed and a jawful of razor sharp teeth came sliding from its gums. It snarled dangerously at Xavier when the boy put his hands tentatively onto the latch. Xav looked at the boy's yellow eyes and read the alien-like creature's emotions. "Okay," he whispered as he nodded. He knew what the boy was trying to say.

With a slight shake in his step, Xavier moved toward another cage. He hoped this one wouldn't be as horrific as the last, a terrible thought, but nevertheless thought the same. He peered into the cage and saw a girl with dark black hair sitting with her arms wrapped around her skinny legs. When she heard movement outside her cage, she looked up in alarm, mossy green eyes wild with fear.

"Don't take me again," she cried and Xavier quickly hushed her.

"I'm here to get you out," he said as he looked her over. He heard the familiar shuffling of feathers and the girl's green eyes turned hopeful. When she slid her way over to Xavier, the boy could see the rustling of wings behind her. "You're a bird kid, too." he said. "So am I." he stretched out his wings slightly for her to see and the girl gasped.

"Riley," she offered as Xavier unlatched her cage. She slid out confidently and gave Xavier a fiery look that made the boy take an instant liking to her. "Twelve years old and been here since I can remember," she said and Xavier noted the slight natural rasp to her voice. A leader, he thought.

"Help get the others out," he ordered and after blinking once, he focused his blue eyes back on her. "Xavier. Seventeen years old and escaped from a School twice," he said with a wink. Riley grinned, gave him a small salute, and went to go help the others out of their cage.

Padding around the locked cages the young violet-eyed girl twisted her lips as she scrutinized their inhabitants, feeling a bit guilty as she passed by the weaker ones. And the more vicious ones. But the flame-haired woman had said not to bother with the ones who wouldn't listen, and she would be damned if she didn't follow those instructions to the letter. It wasn't as if she knew better.

Crouching in front the cage of the boy she called Puma she smiled tentatively before placing her hand on the wire mesh that separated them, feeling his own furred paw touch her skin lightly. "I'm getting you out," she said, her smile widening into a toothy grin. Dipping his head Puma watched her with careful yellow eyes as the girl's arm faded up to the elbow, sinking into his crate before ghostly fingers clasped around his forearm. Before he knew it Puma was transparent and intangible, his feline body slipping through the hatch without any trouble whatsoever.

Growling his thanks Puma unsheathed large ivory claws and touched the girl's shouder tenderly, whiskers twitching on his flat face. "Thannnk youuu," he hissed in a husky voice. "I will helppp youuu."

Nodding her head the raven-haired girl felt a small sob rise up her throat, the seriousness of the situation finally hitting her.

"I'm Keaton," she murmured after a moment, voice small as she watched Puma incline his head before dashing off with feline grace. Turning her head Keaton frowned and wiped away a tear, padding over to another cage that housed one of those bird children. One like her.

Small wings rustled on her back at the thought and Keaton tore her attention back to the cage door, pulling out the older girl with a bit of effort. The other mutant didn't thank her. She simply patted Keaton's cheek and then flared her wings, glaring at everyone else before escaping up the open air vent.

Frowning at her rudeness Keaton opened a few more cages, all of which scattered before she could get them to help. Luckily Puma was using his strong claws to good use, slashing open the cages quickly and moving on.

Turning Keaton hurried over to Akeli, grabbing her hoodie in one hand. "There aren't many left," she whispered shyly, ducking her head when the older girl turned to look down.

"Good job," Akeli said with a grin, a wave of delight surging over her. "Go see if any of the others need help, alright?" Turning Akeli crossed her arms and sighed, heading for a thick steel door that was obviously blocking out the noise of their escape. Luckily for her and Xavier. Lips curled in distaste as she peered out the small porthole window, an Eraser hurrying by, his arms laden with equipment. Ducking down an uttering a quick curse Akeli peeked upwards after a small pause, relieved to see the Eraser had already disappeared down the hallway. It seemed they were busy with something else. Something Akeli had no wish to know about.

Padding away Keaton was still looking at Akeli when she bumped into a larger figure. Letting out a squeak she backpedaled and slipped onto her rump, staring upwards at another girl with coal-black hair.

"S-sorry," she whispered, purple eyes wide. 

Riley's nimble yet strong hands worked at the locks on various cages. She passed by the snake-boy she had seen Xavier at earlier, not daring to look at his already still form. She shivered and her fingers slipped on the nearest lock causing the creature inside to chitter unhappily. When Riley narrowed her eyes at the lock, she twirled her fingers and sent a few tendrils of shadows into the contraption.

With a click, the lock popped open and the ceature slid out. Riley's mossy eyes followed the six-legged creature's erratic movements, its large butterfly wings fanning out as its human eyes eyed the light above them. "T-t-th-thanks," it stuttered, a slight buzz to its voice. Its human head tilted upward and it lifted itself off shakily, large body having trouble fitting through the vent.

With a shake of her head, Riley forced herself to keep opening up the various crates. When she went to turn around, another body hit hers. Riley's mossy green eyes glanced down and she blinked at the terrified girl beneath her. "S-sorry," she stuttered and Riley's eyebrows shot up and her mouth turned down. She looked back at all the empty cages behind her and merely nodded.

"S'fine. We're just about done, I think. Ghost girl, I remember now. I'm Riley," she said as she glanced around uneasily. She wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible.

--

Xavier turned his head, his ears picking up the heavy footfalls the Eraser was making as it trudged through the hallways. He glanced uneasily at Akeli and surveyed the various empty cages that were strewn around them. His nose twitched as he scented the air and the boy tentatively approached another door.

He pressed his ear against the side of the steel door and closed his eyes to focus. A scuffling noise behind the door and then another door was slammed shut. Silence. Xavier pulled back from the door and hesitantly opened it. His blue eyes lit up when he eyed a few containers closest to him. "What are they doing with these?" he breathed as he opened one of the crates.

"Aki, found your fireworks," he said with a laugh as he pulled out one of the missiles. He hefted the rather light weapon and entered back into the main room. "I think these crazy people are planning on blowing the US to bits. Jeez," he exclaimed as he held the rocket out in front of them.

"Whadya say we hit the road with a bang?"