Horizon University – Central Dining Hall
The smell of curry and burgers clashed with the crackle of ozone.
"If you're dangerous, wear dampeners!" a Horizon student yelled.
"What, you want us tagged like dogs?" a mutant girl shot back.
Jake sat in the middle, tray untouched, stomach knotted. He could feel the tension sparking before fists or powers ever flew.
"Alloy," he muttered.
"Already taking bets. Ten-to-one the Horizon kid gets mashed-potato'd in the face."
A chair scraped. A hand sparked with electricity. Jake stood. "Enough—"
But his body betrayed him. His aura flared, turquoise light roaring through the cafeteria, plates rattling, bulbs flickering.
"Jake!" Rogue lunged, hands gripping his. Energy streamed into her like a siphon. Her hair streaked white, her skin glowing faintly — but steady.
The overload cut. Silence.
Rogue breathed out. "See? He ain't dangerous. Not if Ah'm here."
Whispers swirled.
"She drained him."
"No — she protected him."
"What is he?"
And then, Alloy's voice cut through like a headline ticker:
"Breaking news: Rogue is now Jake's official circuit breaker! Matching jackets coming soon. Call yourselves the Turbo Twins!"
Jake dropped his head into his hands.
Deadpool meta-cut: "And there's the ship bait! Someone start a Tumblr page. '#TurboTwins4Life.' You know you want to."