CHAPTER 90: [90] THE CALM BEFORE

After two hours of detailed measurements, material discussions, and Noel’s increasingly manic excitement about experimental crystal weave patterns, Xavier and Calypso emerged from the workshop with all limbs intact and no explosions—which seemed to disappoint several students who had been hovering near the exits.

"See you next week for the first fitting!" Noel called after them. "And remember, if your skin starts tingling when you wear the prototypes, that’s probably normal!"

Xavier raised a hand in acknowledgment without turning around. "Thanks for your help, Noel."

"You survived," Professor Valdez observed as they rejoined the group, her tone suggesting this outcome had been less than certain. "Everyone gather your things. We still have study hall in fifteen minutes, and I won’t accept tardiness because you were distracted by shiny toys."

As the class began moving toward the exit, Calypso nudged Xavier’s arm. "I’m going to hang back with Margaret and Ashley. They would probably want to know all about our ’mad scientist experience.’" She made air quotes with her fingers.

"Don’t tell them about the part where she wanted to integrate live crystal samples into our bloodstream," Xavier said.

"That’s the best part of the story!" Calypso protested before drifting toward her friends.

Xavier ended up walking alongside Luka, Beppo, and a noticeably quiet Nolan. The smaller student kept glancing at Xavier then looking away whenever Xavier met his eyes.

"Something on your mind, Nolan?" Xavier asked.

Nolan adjusted his thick glasses, which had slipped down his nose. "I... I wanted to thank you. For pushing me out of the way earlier. When Noel was..." He made a vague flying motion with his hands.

"Don’t sweat it," Xavier shrugged. "It was nothing."

"Nothing?" Luka’s booming voice made several students ahead of them jump. "Was very heroic act, Xavier! You move like lightning to save comrade from flying danger woman!" He clapped Xavier on the back. "In Russia, we say man who protects friends in danger is man worth following into battle!"

"I’m pretty sure that’s not an actual Russian saying," Xavier said, rubbing his shoulder.

"Is now! I Russian! I just said it!" Luka grinned.

Beppo sighed dramatically. "Meanwhile, I got paired with Ezekiel, who has the vocabulary of a drunk sailor and the patience of a caffeinated squirrel."

"You could have asked to swap with me at the beginning," Xavier pointed out.

Beppo’s eyes widened in horror. "With Noel? Are you kidding? She’s a line-stepper on my Scale. Way too risky."

"The hell are you talking about?" Kyrie’s voice cut in from behind them. He’d been walking a few paces back, but now moved up alongside their group.

Beppo glanced around nervously, checking that the girls were occupied in their own conversations. They had formed two clusters behind them—Calypso with Margaret, Selena, Naomi and Ashley, while Eliza, Aurora, and Sayuri walked together a few steps ahead.

"Okay, so imagine there’s a graph," Beppo began, lowering his voice.

"What type of graph?" Nolan asked, then immediately hunched his shoulders. "Sorry."

"No problem, man," Beppo assured him. "Just think of a regular one with those dots? All around?"

"It’s called a scatter plot," Kyrie said, rolling his eyes. "Basic statistics."

"Right, a scatter plot," Beppo continued. "So on the Y-axis you have hotness, and on the X-axis you have crazy. There’s this line that runs diagonally across the middle—that’s the median. The hotter a woman is, the more crazy she’s allowed to be while still being worth the risk."

"Example?" Luka prompted.

"Let’s say... Professor Fox," Beppo suggested. "She’s hot as hell, right? And definitely a little crazy with her teaching methods and that whole ’call me Belle’ thing. But she falls above the line, so that’s a risk worth taking."

"And Noel?"

"That’s the problem! Noel is super hot, but she’s also a batshit crazy mad scientist who causes explosions. So she can be above the line one minute and way below it the next. Too unpredictable."

Kyrie snorted. "Naomi must be in the negative X axis then."

"I’m sorry, where exactly do we fit on this graph?"

The male students froze at Selena’s voice.

Xavier turned slowly to find all six female classmates standing a few feet away, expressions ranging from Sayuri’s embarrassed discomfort to Naomi’s barely contained rage. Selena stood at the front, her blue-tipped blonde hair catching the light as she smiled with closed eyes in a way that promised violence.

Xavier closed his eyes and tilted his face toward the ceiling. At least he hadn’t participated in the conversation beyond asking a single question. He shouldn’t be in too much trouble.

Please take one for the team, Beppo and Kyrie. Especially Kyrie—take the fall for us.

"I-it’s just a stupid internet meme," Beppo stammered, his usual confidence evaporating. "Not something I actually believe in or anything."

"Really?" Ashley stepped forward. "Because you seemed quite knowledgeable in your explanation."

"And I’m particularly interested in hearing more about my position on this graph," Naomi added, eyes fixed on Kyrie.

Kyrie, to his credit, didn’t back down. "You’re gorgeous to most people but mean as hell. Simple math."

Xavier winced. Not the approach he would have taken.

"Everyone, quiet down," Professor Valdez called from the front of the group. "We’re almost back to the main building."

The tension dissipated slightly as they continued walking, though the girls maintained a unified front, whispering among themselves and occasionally shooting glares at the boys.

"You’ve doomed us all," Xavier muttered to Beppo.

"Me? Kyrie’s the one who insulted Naomi directly!"

"I just told the truth," Kyrie shrugged. "Not my fault if she can’t handle it."

Nolan cleared his throat softly. "Actually, the whole concept is fundamentally flawed. Human personality traits exist on multiple complex spectra that can’t be reduced to a simple binary classification system. And linking perceived physical attractiveness to an arbitrary tolerance for behavioral traits is both scientifically unsound and ethically problematic."

The other boys stared at him.

"What?" Nolan adjusted his glasses nervously. "I’m just saying it’s bad science."

"It’s not science at all," Xavier said. "It’s Beppo being an idiot."

"Hey!"

They reached the main academy building, and Professor Valdez turned to address the class. "I have some business to attend to. Use this time wisely."

As the group dispersed, Xavier felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to find Calypso standing there.

"So," she said, leaning closer. "Where do I fall on this graph of yours?"

"I didn’t make the graph," Xavier pointed out. "That was all Beppo."

"But you must have an opinion." She tilted her head, silver hair falling across one shoulder. "Am I hot enough to justify my level of crazy?"

Xavier felt the corner of his mouth twitch upward. "You’re a literal goddess trapped in a mortal body due to a divine glitch, bound to me by supernatural forces, with the power to manipulate probability through magical playing cards. But... I’m pretty sure you broke the scale in a good way."

Calypso laughed. "Good answer. Looks like you’re not sleeping on the couch tonight."

"What about me?" Xavier asked. "Where do I fall on the equivalent male version?"

"Oh, you’re definitely in the danger zone," Calypso said without hesitation. "Extremely hot, extremely complicated. But..." She leaned in closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Worth the risk."

Before Xavier could respond, she turned and walked away, rejoining Margaret and Ashley who were waiting by the water fountain.

"Xavier!" Luka’s voice boomed down the hallway. "Come! We must strategize how to survive the wrath of women we have angered!"

We? I guess Luka speaks French. Who knew?

"Alright, alright." Xavier laughed. "I’m coming."

***

GLOBAL GATE AUTHORITY

INCIDENT REPORT: RESTRICTED CLEARANCE Log Date: October 7, 2065

Location: Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Redding, California

Incident Type: Spontaneous Gate Manifestation

Classification:

Black Gate (Unknown Rank)

Reporting Officer: Captain Elliot Mercer, GGA Western Division

***

At 14:51 PST, Monitoring Station Delta-12 registered dimensional instability at coordinates 40°51’33"N, 122°18’45"W. The site was previously catalogued as dormant gate remnant GTR-2043-114, a stabilized Tier 1 manifestation that had been inactive for six months.

A Catalyst Hunter Academy field trip consisting of fifteen first-year students and two faculty members was present at the location for an educational observation of dormant gate phenomena. Standard safety protocols were being observed according to preliminary reports.

At 14:52 PST, the dormant gate exhibited unprecedented reactivation patterns. Energy signatures did not match any previously documented gate types. The remnant expanded rapidly from 1.2 meters to approximately 17 meters in diameter within 2 seconds. Energy readings exceeded established parameters for conventional classification.

Black particulate matter was observed emanating from the gate perimeter, accompanied by gravitational distortions inconsistent with standard gate physics. Before evacuation could be completed, seven Catalyst Academy students were drawn into the manifestation. Faculty member attempts at retrieval were unsuccessful.

The gate collapsed at 14:57 PST, leaving no trace of the missing students or the original gate structure. Recovery teams found only a crystallized depression approximately 20 meters in diameter with unusual energy residue.

MISSING PERSONNEL:

[NAMES REDACTED PENDING NEXT OF KIN NOTIFICATION]

CRITICAL NOTE: This incident represents the third Black Gate manifestation in North America during 2055. Pattern analysis suggests possible correlation with [REDACTED BY ORDER OF DIRECTOR NERONA].

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Immediate quarantine of affected area (5km radius)

Deployment of S-rank hunter team for residual energy analysis

Implementation of Protocol Obsidian Shield for media containment

Acceleration of Project Looking Glass timeline

All further communications regarding this incident must be routed through secure channel Theta-9. Standard reporting protocols are suspended until further notice.