Mutants: Normal

5-1: Feeling and logic

Zero jerked up in bed in a cold sweat before plopping back down and closing his eyes. He slung his arm over his wet forehead and muttered, "It's only a dream. It's only a dream." Zero didn't remember what he'd dreamt of but he knew that he hadn't liked it. He was trembling all over from whatever the nightmare had been.

Groggily, Zero patted around on the bed for the binder of information the on the crime he had been avidly reading the night before. The more I think about, the more my hypothesis makes sense. It's terrible, but I can't keep it hidden. Upon finding it nestled between a pillow and the blanket near his head, he propped it onto the small table beside his bed and proceeded to get out of bed, noticing that Pierre was already up since the bed beside his was empty. Yawning, he tried to open the bathroom door but it was locked. He knocked on the door before yelling: "Hurry up!"

There was no answer. That meant it was probably Pierre who was inside. Ignoring me as always. Fang would have just said something rude.

Zero got the chills. Someone's behind me, he thought, tensing. If it's another automaton, I'll destroy it before it gets a chance to react. He knew the chance of it being another of those machines was so remotely small it was not even something to think about, but he couldn't escape the paranoia of the possibility, especially after what had happened the day before. Something zipped past him so quickly that he could only see a blur of whatever had moved. Startled, Zero stumbled back before recognizing the figure that now had his back to him.

"Fang! What the hell's your problem?" he yelled, swallowing his panic. "You scared me to death! I thought you were another one of those automatons!" Tired. That's what I am. I'm too tired to think straight. Zero was unable to hold back a yawn as he glanced at the clock. It was five in the morning and the sun wasn't even up yet. And I slept late yesterday trying to get through all the files too... Which he apparently hadn't managed, given that the binder had been still open on his bed. "Good morning to you," he finally said to Fang, his better nature cooling his anger.

Fang didn't reply for a long moment. Then, "As if you had enough skill to hit me." He turned his head sideways so that he could see Zero. "Don't get cocky and think that you're better than me because you took me out once, Zero." There was a black blur before Fang was standing beside his surprised roommate. "Ranulf's back from his investigation early this morning and he's summoned us to his room. He's going to fill us in on what he's found, and wants to know what we think, who we suspect. See you there." Without another word, Fang swept out of the room, leaving Zero's still-waking mind to wonder.

What investigation?

But aside from the sudden talk of an already-finished investigation, there was another thing that hadn't made sense in their short conversation. From all his memories in the past year, Zero knew that he had never beaten Fang at anything. Unlike Zero who was an amateur in their little band who stood out mostly for his hard work, Fang was naturally talented at everything they learned from combat to language to stealth. In fact, Zero would even admit, albeit not to Fang's face, that the senior mutant was something of a role model to him.

So, why was he saying these things to me? Is he still mad about yesterday? It was true, now that Zero thought about it, Fang appeared more frazzled than usual. His eyes had been underlined with dark circles, and his hair was unkempt, his clothes dirty. Where did he end up sleeping?

At the back of his confused brain, Zero noticed that Pierre was done his washing up and had exited the room. He's going to go over and talk to Ranulf. Thinking of his mentor, Zero decided that he didn't want to take time to wash up, and he left the room as well, locking the door behind him. Shake it off, Zero. Fang's always been unpredictable. You should be used to it.