12/9 Instance: Lack of Words.

[littlebamf]

Timeline: After the game “Breaking the News”.



Tessa: Tessa wandered down the aisles in the library, looking for a book to read. She'd read most of the books in nonfiction for classes, so she settled for fiction. She picked up an old copy of the Iliad and tucked it under her arm.

Cessily: Cessily hurried down the corridor to the library with fast, determined steps as she hadn't been able to find Tessa in any of the other rooms so far. It hadn't been half an hour since Kitty, Rachel and Japh had found her to tell her about what had happened. This all seemed like a horrible deja vu, or a bad dream.

Cessily: Stepping through the door, she proceeded to walk past the aisles, looking left and right. She wondered what she would say when she found Tessa, how she'd explain it. She had just heard it herself and her own mind was still struggling to grasp it. "Tessa?"

Tessa: Flipping through the pages of a book with no title on the binding, Tess recognized Cessily's voice. "Yes? I'm in...ah, fiction. Near Homer." She came to the end of the shelf and found Cess. "What do you need?"

Cessily: "Hey, love." Cessily sighed in relief and paced over to her, trying to force a small smile onto her face. She failed miserably. All of this couldn't really be happening. Not again. This was so insane. But... it did happen. Just like during her first semester. It did. "In fact, I've been looking for you." She stopped in front of Tessa and took a breath. "Did you... did you hear the news already?"

Cessily: Of course she didn't, you tard. Or would she be idly looking for books if she did?

Tessa: Tessa blinked at the look on Cessily's face and smiled at her question. "What, did Munroe grade our tests that quick?" She'd expected a smile in return, and began to wonder what was up when it didn't happen. "What's the matter?"

Cessily: Cessily closed her eyes, the words she had thought of on her way here quickly evaporating in her mind. "No, nothing like that. Something happened. Something bad." She fixed her eyes on Tessa's face. If she wanted to do this and be of any help, she had to force herself to do this. And do it properly. "There are students missing."

Tessa: Tess set the books down on a nearby table and took a breath. "Which ones?" Though she already could narrow the possibilities down if it was Cessily telling her. And in that tone of voice. "Who's missing?"

Cessily: Cessily bit her lip, hard. Taking another fake breath, she forced herself to keep her composure. "We... searched the entire school grounds to see who's missing... and so far we're certain it's Scott, Meggan, Warren, Jackie, Kyle..." She paused a moment. "We can also find no trace of Andreas."

Tessa: Tessa just stood there, looking ready to say something and not doing it. "That's not...that can't be right. Andy wouldn't...he can take care of himself." She reached into her pocket and flipped open her cell phone.

Tessa: She dailed his number and held it to her ear, frowning when she got his voicemail. "He's just got his phone turned off. Are you sure he's not here, or in his room? Maybe he's out, took his porsche." She wouldn't believe it. Not until she had no other choice.

Cessily: Cessily chewed on her lip while she watched Tessa dial his number. "I'm sorry, Tess. But they are very certain that they're actually missing." She ran a hand through her hair, feeling horrible that she had to do this to her. "in fact, the Security team thinks that they're not only missing, but have been... taken by force."

Tessa: Tessa couldn't think of anything to say. She just stood there, trying to wrap her mind around the fact that these people were gone. "This isn't happening." She sat down heavily in a chair. "Who took them?" She asked, even though she wasn't sure she wanted to know.

Cessily: Sitting down in the chair next to her, Cessily carefully put an arm around Tessa's shoulder. "I... I just heard it, too. Kitty, Rae and Japh told me. I feel the same way, except that I've gone through the same during my first semester here." Which hadn't been entirely the same, she found. After all, she hadn't known anyone of the abducted students back then. This was different.

Cessily: "I didn't want to believe it at first, too. But... Security is very certain." She looked down at the tabletop, sighing. "They are trying to find out who's responsible. It all happened very fast, during a power outage that didn't last longer than a few minutes."

Tessa: Tess concentrated on breathing. The last thing she needed was to go into a seizure right now. "So....so it was organized." She looked at the tabletop and wanted very badly to be anywhere else right then. "It had to be quick if it was during that power shortage."

Tessa: "If any of them are hurt, there's going to be hell to pay." She said, clenching her hands into fists on the table.

Cessily: Cessily gave Tessa a determined look. "Tessa, we will find them. We get them back. There's no doubt about that." She gave Tessa's shoulder a squeeze. "Yes, it was organized. Someone knew very well what he had to do. Maybe it has something to do with the bomb and the theft of our files."

Cessily: Her free hand reached out to take Tessa's. "But they told me that they'll do everything they can to find those who are responsible and where they took them. I will do everything I can."

Tessa: Tessa shook her head and began to pace, doing what she did when she was very nervous. "There are six missing, right? Six kids gone in fifteen minutes. That's impossible for one person. That would have to be...two and a half minutes for each kid. Finding, taking, getting to the next." She thought out loud. She ran her hands through her hair, turning and heading back to the table.

Cessily: Cessily folded her hands on the table, tightly clenching them. "They said that there had to be several people involved in this, that's true." She nodded. "And there's also the possibility that this was done by other mutants... seeing how easily those six had been taken."

Tessa: Tess blew out a breath, never stopping her pacing. "They had to know what they were going for and how to get it."

Tessa: "Damnit, damnit." She sat down abruptly on the floor next to the end of a stack. "Why did this happen?"

Cessily: Cessily immediately stood up and knelt beside Tessa, putting a hand on her arm. "I wish I knew an answer to this, Tess. But, I don't know one. All I know is that there are people who want to hurt us, or want to abuse us." She put her forehead against Tessa's temple. "But that's why we're training as hard as we do. So we can protect our friends. And we will get them back."

Tessa: Tessa shuddered out a breath as her head tilted backwards and thumped against the bookcase. "Andy's mroe than a friend to me. I was going to ask him out when I saw him next. I was trying to catch him before class, but I couldn't find him."

Cessily: "I know that he means a lot to you." Cessily bit her lip, realizing how hard this must be for Tessa. She was friends with everyone who was missing, but wasn't as close with anyone as Tessa was with Andreas. "I promise you that we'll find him and the others. And then we'll get them back. I will go and get him personally. And we have many others who trained hard just for such a situation."

Tessa: Tessa didn't say anything to that, just sat there staring at the ceiling. She wished she could have gotten herself angry at Andy for not being there, but she couldn't find anything to be mad at.

Cessily: Cessily sat down beside her, firmly taking her hand. Although she had never been able to see what Tessa saw in Andrea's, she deeply respected what they felt for each other. She rested her head against Tessa's, and as they sat silently, Cessily realized what madness all of this was. They'd never be able to live normal lives. "I'll get him back, Tessa. I promise."

Tessa: "I don't want to be stuck here while he's gone. I can't do nothing." She tried to hold her breath, hoping she could at least retain something of her pride while this was going on. It felt at the moment like her carefully built world was falling like a house of cards.

Cessily: "Yes, I know how hard that must be. I was forced to sit and wait for my friends to come back from a horrible fight during my first semester." And she had sworn to herself to never let that happen again. "Maybe... maybe I could talk to some of the team leaders. I'm sure they need all the help they can get now."

Tessa: "I don't know what I'd do. All I can think of is looking for them, but I don't know where to start." She banged her head against the bookcase wall. "I'm supposed to be able to figure this out."

Cessily: "Don't torture yourself, Tess." Cessily gripped her hand tightly. "How are you supposed to figure this out all on your own when even the entire Investigations and Security team is clueless? At least, that's the impression I got. But, as far as I know, you have like... a super smart brain. I'm sure you could help them trying to figure out what happened."

Tessa: "I'm supposed to know everything! I never forget things and I can tell what people are, and what they think...how did I not know this was coming? What did I miss?" She'd broken down by now, marring her already accented words with stuttering breaths and trying to control herself. She wished she could forget how to cry.

Cessily: "But you can't forget what you don't know yet, love." Cessily put her arm around Tessa and pulled her close. "Don't blame yourself, please. It's not your fault. No one saw it coming, not even Professor Xavier or Lizzie."

Tessa: Tess wanted to simply dissapear, to drop through the floor like Kitty could. "It's just...now that we actually don't hate each other, he's gone. I never really thought I'd like him until we talked, in Germany." A tear clung to her eyelashes until she brushed it away, rubbing her fingers on her jeans.

Cessily: Cessily tried to think of something smart to say that would make her feel better, but soon realized that words wouldn't really help Tessa at this time. So she just wrapped her arms around her tighter and held her close. She hoped that it would give her the feeling that she wasn't alone in this. That there were people who loved her and would do anything to get the others back.

Tessa: Tessa leaned against Cessily, her head on the other girl's shoulder. "He told me I was beautiful, at the ball. I don't want to believe he's not here, Cess. But I don't know what else to do."

Cessily: "I know. Feeling helpless is horrible. I don't know what to do either." She let out a sigh. "I mean, all I can do is train with my team until someone will find a trace. Until then, I'm as helpless as you are. But, maybe we can ask if we can be of any help."

Tessa: Tess rubbed her eyes tiredly. "We have to find something. I'm not going to leave him alone because someone thinks we shouldn't be here." She jerked her arm down and hit the floor hard with the side of her fist.

Cessily: "We will find something," Cessily assured her. "They are going to let Vic have a look at the site where they were taken. He has senses sharper that those of a bloodhound. And we have telepaths and Japh has psychometry. There's just no way that we won't find at least some hints."

Tessa: Tess sighed and just curled up, putting her head on her knees. "If only I could have seen them. I could tell what they did."

Cessily: Cessily pondered for a moment, staring at the opposite wall. Tessa needed something to do, a way she wouldn't feel useless and helpless anymore. Dammit, they all did. Cessily know this feeling all too well. "We could see what Security and Investigation already have, and maybe find a hint we could work with. I mean, I'm sure that you could spot a detail others would easily miss."

Tessa: "I just need to sit here for a little while. i'm not fit for human consumption right now." She rested her cheek against the bookcase and closed her eyes.

Tessa: "Do you know where he was going? Andy, I mean."

Cessily: "No, not really. They think that he was on the way to his car when they... whan he went missing." She gently rubbed Tessa's arm. "Do you want to be alone for a while? Or shall I stay with you? I could just sit with you for a while."

Tessa: Tess shrugged listlessly. "I don't know. I just really don't."

Cessily: Cessily leaned against Tessa and put her head against hers. "Well, in that case, I'll just hold you until you know."