The second the heavy steel doors shut closed, Hank spun around facing Layla. Seeing that Hank was blocking her path, Layla stopped where she was. She let out an annoyed sigh while crossing her arms.
"Hey, what happened back there? You froze in the middle of training, and it took two hits from the sentinel just to wake you up. Are you alright?" Hank asked looking concerned.
"Hank, I'm fine. And I didn't freeze...well, I did freeze, but I was planning an attack on the sentinel. That was part of my plan." Layla lied cooly.
She managed to look up at Hank, and Hank stood there scrutinizing Layla. He remained quiet keeping his eyebrows drawn tightly together while his lips were pressed in a tight line. He wasn't sure if he believed what Layla told him was true or not. Looking back at what happened during training, Hank recalled Layla looking petrified, and unable to move her limbs. She allowed a sentinel to throw her around like a rag doll before she finally snapped out of it, and returned to the matter that was at hand. To Hank, that did not appear to be a strategic move played out by Layla. The whole group was watching with worried or confused eyes. At one point, he thought Peter was going to zip out on the field, and grab Layla because he had been worried. Luckily, that was when Layla decided to snap out of her daze and return to fighting.
Hank didn't know if he should believe Layla or not. Layla could have been telling the truth, but Hank had a feeling she was covering up what had transpired during training. The event only occurred once, and he knew he shouldn't make a big deal out of it, but given what happened last year, Hank knew Layla never talked about it. However, Layla never seemed to be troubled after that incident. Then again, Layla stayed quiet about things that were going on in her life, and as a friend that bothered Hank. After all, he and Charles didn't know much about her past or her friendship with Peter, until Charles went into her mind, hoping to wake her from her nightmares when she almost brought the school down. Hank would never know, and all he could do was go by what Layla told him. Hank's expression eased and he stepped to the side, allowing Layla to pass through.
"Alright. Just...don't do that again. You had me and the others worried because we didn't know what the hell you were doing." Hank said calmly.
"Okay, but it was training, Hank, and I had a plan. I had it under control." Layla said keeping her tone level, and expression calm.
Layla walked past Hank feeling a bit relieved, but the weight on her shoulders wouldn't budge until she was away from Hank, and in her room. She was surprised Hank had believed her, but she had a feeling he still questioned what happened. In order for Hank or the others not to question her, she needed to make sure what went on didn't happen again. Layla wasn't quite sure what happened, though. She had been having nightmares about the accident, but she learned to wake herself from those dreams. She was tired, but not exhausted like she had been previously. Was she scared when she thought about what happened a year ago? Yes, but she shouldn't be seeing him. Could she? What happened during training scared Layla, and while she told Hank she had the situation under control, she wasn't quite sure.
"Oh, hey." Hank interrupted stopping Layla on her way upstairs.
Layla spun around facing Hank. "Yeah?"
"Meet me down at the lab this evening." He said before he went back into the training room.
Layla never even had the chance to ask why, but she was too tired and sore to push on, and reminded herself to meet Hank this evening.
_______________________________
Unknown
"I think we may have found something relating to the information you requested. It took some digging, but I believe we might have what you need. Here's the file." The recruit said in a flat tone, placing the manilla envelope on the desk.
The recruit stood back with his hands behind his back, keeping his head held high while his stoic eyes stared at the back of the man's head. The recruit patiently waited only leaving when he was told. He stood with his back towards the recruit looking out the window. He maintained a firm posture keeping his hands behind his back as he began to clench his fists slowly. For a year he had men searching for what he needed, and he got nowhere or was given the wrong information. He never gave up, and continued to have his men search. Each time one of his men came in with information, he knew after having many losses not to have high hopes. He was getting frustrated with the situation at hand, but the man they were searching for had hid his information very well.
Turning around he looked at the thin manilla that laid on his desk, and just looking at it he knew nothing would come of it. How could anything come of it? Any information, no matter how small, was something and he picked up the thin envelope keeping his expectations low. He twirled the thin red string around until the seal was released. He stared at the crack of the envelope before pulling the thin white papers out of their protective cover. Dropping the manilla envelope on the desk he began to thumb through the papers, inspecting them with careful eyes. His eyes read every entry; examined every picture. He thumbed through the papers one more time, re-reading the pages before he dropped the pictures on his desk. Slowly, a sly, cold smile crept on his face.
"Very good." He congratulated the recruit.
The recruit only nodded. "What do we do now?" He asked in a emotionless tone.
He turned around with the sly smile plastered on his face. After a year of searching, he had the information he needed. Just when he thought nothing would come of this, his men found it. Clearly, the man had not hid his information very well after all. All that effort to hide the work, only for it to be discovered. Now, he could proceed with his plans.
"Begin the experiment." He ordered.
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Layla stood in the shower enjoying the feel of the warm water cascading down her body. Her body was sore after being thrown around the training room from the sentinel, and the warm water eased her aching muscles. Reluctantly, Layla turned the shower off enjoying the cloud of warmth before she opened the door. Cold air cut through the warm cloud surrounding her sending goosebumps down her arm. Quickly, Layla yanked her grey towel off its holder wrapping it tightly around her body. She stepped out, walking across the cool flooring towards her foggy mirror. Wiping the mirror clear of the fog, she looked at her split lip. She dropped her hand on the counter seeing that her lip was already beginning to heal. Her eyes flicked up staring at her own reflection, and she couldn't stop thinking about what happened during training. All Layla could think about was whether she would lose control again like she had before. Finally, she managed to get a grip on her powers, but now she was beginning to doubt herself.
"You okay?" Peter asked cooly behind her.
Layla flinched slightly, and spun around startled to see Peter. One thing she hated about being with Peter was his speed. He always sneaked up on her, or had been so quiet when entering her room she didn't know he was there. While it did annoy her at times she loved him no matter what. When Layla turned to face Peter she found him eating an orange popsicle while he kept his eyes fixated on her. She watched as his eyes trailed down her body then flicked back up to meet her eyes. He took a bite out of his popsicle waiting patiently, but Layla had gotten caught up in the moment that she forgot he had asked her a question.
"Umm," Layla drawled as she shook her head clearing away the thoughts about Peter that crept into her mind. Peter sent her a wolfish smile before he took another bite. "I'm fine. Just...thinking." Layla finished quickly.
"What happened out there during training?" Peter asked keeping his expression calm.
"Nothing happened. It was part of my attack plan toward the sentinel. I told Hank as well." Layla lied though it pained her more to lie to Peter than it did Hank.
Peter stopped eating the popsicle and studied Layla with unreadable eyes. She couldn't read whether he was mad, sad, curious, or concerned. He just stared at her with a look she couldn't read. Eventually, Peter looked away and leaned off the wall as he finished the popsicle.
"You know," He said casually as he sauntered closer to her. His eyes remained on her and while Layla had room to move around she felt pinned to the sink. Layla kept her eyes on Peter catching the playfulness, but also the fire that burned in his eyes. Peter stood close to Layla their faces were inches apart. His chest practically brushed up against hers, and the air in her lungs seemed to escape her. He trailed his finger lightly down Layla's neck feeling her quickened pulse as he went. His hand then trailed down her collarbone delicately moving his fingertips across. A pleasant chill ran through her body, and Layla found her legs had become weak. "You shouldn't let strangers inside your room." Peter smirked playfully.
His warm brown eyes flicked up to her, and he moved his head closer to her. He brought his lips down on her neck kissing the spots where his hands had been. Peter then brought his lips up to Layla kissing her slowly. Layla's head was spinning and for a minute she forgot all her worries. It was just her and Peter, and nothing else. Peter's hand crept lower reaching across to the hand that held her towel, and Layla pulled away placing her hand on his chest. Her heart was racing and she was breathless like she had run a marathon.
"Okay," She panted. "You need to get out before this gets out of hand. I'll never be able to leave this room if you don't get out. Now, I need to dress, write myself a note to lock my doors at all times, and go down to the lab while you," Layla inhaled sharply before speaking again. "Go...do something else."
Peter only smirked. "If you need anything, I'll be right outside." He winked before speeding off, and shutting the door.
Quickly, Layla got dressed unsure whether Peter would make a surprise visit as she got ready. When she stepped out of the bathroom she found Peter lying on the bed wearing his uniform still while he listened to music on his Walkman. Layla smiled and slipped on her shoes. When she looked up she found Peter had been watching her, and he slid his headphones off.
"You going to the lab now?" He asked.
"Yeah."
"Great! I'll come with you." He said happily as he got off the bed.
"Hank, just wants me down there. I don't know why, but he said he needed to see me about something." She lied.
Hank never told her she couldn't bring Peter, but she wasn't sure what Hank would be doing, and if it related to what she thought it was, she didn't want Peter there. Not yet at least.
"Okay, well then I'll meet you in the dining hall then." He said cooly.
"Great. See you then." Layla smiled as she walked out of the room.
_________________________
Layla stepped into the lab only to find Hank busy writing at his desk. The steel doors shut behind her drawing Hank's attention to her. Hank dropped his pencil, smiling as she stepped further inside.
"Great, you made it!" He smiled happily.
"Yes, I did. Now, why did you need to see me?" She asked confused.
"Well, I remembered that I told you last year I would test your blood to see how your cells act."
"I hoped you would forget about it." Layla frowned.
"Don't you want to know more about your powers, and how your cells are? I thought that was what you wanted. With the school being rebuilt and the new students and teachers coming in, it slipped my mind, but I remembered recently. Do you still want to know?" Hank questioned.
"No, I do. I just...no I do. You're right. Sorry, I'm just thinking about other things at the moment."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"There's nothing to talk about, but thanks." Layla smiled sincerely.
Hank nodded and stood up. "Well then, let's get started."