| All Are One And One Are All | |||||
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| What: Leo Luthor encounters the Stepford Cuckoos in the Academy of Tomorrow Student Center | |||||
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In the student center there is a nice little circular table with five comfortable chairs pulled around it. Sitting in each of those chairs are five identical girls, with identical eyes, identical hair and identical uniforms that clear mark them as members of the Academy of Tomorrow students. The odd things is despite their desire to clearly be together, none of them are speaking to each other, they all are just staring out it to space almost like they were catatonic.
While not every student at the Academy had met them, most had heard of them. They had nicknames like Freaks, Children of the Corn and such. And it was well known that they were the headmistress's favorite students. They had even been seen using her personal driver and even her credit cards when out and about. Most called them the Stepford Cuckoos. But most people didn't talk to them.
Leo Luthor has not personally interacted with The Stepford Cuckoos before; though he honestly finds the nickname 'cute', least that one, and vaguely amusing. Their creepiness doesn't seem to bother him much in the retelling. They haven't had any college courses together. When he finds them in the student center however, he shrugs and decides to make a play at it. May as well. Tiptoeing around life never gained him much, better to bulldoze through with a bit of finesse.
That is how he moves to slide between the Cuckoos table and the one beside them, 'accidentally' bumping one of their chairs. His hand moves to touch the back of the chair as if to catch it, but not actually touch the girl, "Ah, sorry," and he smiles apologetically. He likely should have just taken the time to use his heightened senses to get a good look at them, because...up close and personal, they certainly give off a 'different feel'...
The Cuckoos look at Leo for a moment. The one he bumped into actually blushes slightly when she see him. The rest however stare daggers at him for a moment. Before returning to looking at their sister who was 'bumped.' Finally one of them actually speaks, "Really? Him? Fine," she sighs for a moment before saying, "Leopold Luthor would you like to join us?"
It was obvious in the tone of the one who spoke that there was some other conversation that had gone on in the seconds it took Leo took to apologize. And that the one who spoke seemed to be the 'leader of sorts' to them. Oddly enough, besides that they were completely identical. Even Leo's enhanced vision would be unable to find any differences between their appearances and each other.
And Leo is frozen a moment at that blush...cause for a moment, he thought of Emma. But that...doesn't make sense. It makes him slightly uncomfortable, the thought, but he shakes it off. "Yes, I'd love to join the rays of sunshines that is just the embodiment of each and every one of them," rolling his eyes for dramatic effect. "So, other than personality quirks, how do you tell you girls apart?" Individuality, to Leo, it's a significate thing, so he immediately works on individual identification. The girl that blushed he stares a little longer at, and winks at, before he looks at each of the girls, struggling to find even minute differences....in the way they sit, the way their hair parts...anything....and coming up sort of empty, which isn't normal for him. Alright...he gets the creepy mentality from the other students now, cause how do you know which one you are speaking to?! "And seriously, Leopold?" A touch of humor touches his tone, as he carefully keeps it in place. He is apparently refusing to be intimidated by the girls just 'cause' they are 'different'...or rather the 'same'.
The one who spoke up said, "Fine then, 'Leo'. But just to be clear."
Suddenly and simultaneously they all said in the exact same thing, "Ms. Frost has warned us about the Luthors."
In answer to Leo's question however a different one spoke, "We are Sophie, Phoebe, Irma, Celeste and Esme. You don't need to tell us apart though.
Again they all spoke in the same tone and inflection, even Leo's ears wouldn't hear the slightest difference, "Because we are the Five-in-One. We are the same, we are one."
The second girl spoke separately once again, "Even if Celeste -does- think your cute."
"Esme!" the blushing one cried out for a moment. Esme just smirked slightly.
A roll of Leo's eyes at that, "We never do what we should, ya, ya. Father drives her nuts, and I throw her curve balls." He doesn't seem overly concerned about Emma's warning in the least. "She likes curve balls though," and a self-satisifed smirk. "Alright, so do you guys practice this cause you know it will creep the hell out of people? Cause it seriously does." Even him a bit. But he knows there are differences. One blushed...and he makes sure to keep track of that one. "Celeste huh?" He studies Celeste a few moments,a nd then mmms, "Esme is the bossy one, check. Celeste is the cute one, check. Two down, three to go for identifying personality quirks." And boldness is apparently Leo's.
Still, his mind is working, weighing information, the 'five-in-one' comment making him think of Emma and telepathy. Surely not!
The first one who spoke individually to offer Leo the seat said, "Esme isn't bossy. And Celeste is no cuter than any of us. Please don't try to ruin the harmony of our collective."
There was a lot of internal conversation going between the girls that couldn't be seen. They were judging Leo in ways he couldn't fathom at the moment, all at the speed of thought, they even just finished having an argument over if Celeste could date him or not. The fourth one finally spoke, "We should just tell him which ones we all are. It will save the time of having his eyes leering at us like all the other boys do. He won't be able to keep us straight anyways."
All the girls nodded in unison, a consensus had been made. The one that had been doing the most talking, the one that had invited Leo said, "Sophie."
The one that said they should just tell them their names said, "Phoebe."
The only one that hadn't said anything said, "Irma."
Sophie then spoke up again and said, "And you have already identified Celeste and Esme due to their little embarrassment a moment ago. Besides as we've said our names matter little."
"We are the Five-in-One."
A roll of Leo's eyes, "Not at first anyway, but I'm a stubborn one. I'll figure out a way, just to prove you wrong." Damn right he will! Harmony? Like there is such a thing. The world is constantly in conflict and competitive. Closest to harmony he ever felt was..., but he shuts those thoughts down, as they bring pain he doesn't know how to deal with. He makes sure to smile, and concentrate on the girls before him. "And I don't leer, I honestly appreciate." The thought of sex actually hasn't even crossed his mind and still doesn't.
Quiet one Irma, practical one Phoebe, cute one Celeste, and...he will have to think who is really the bossy one, Sophie or Esme...and how to tell them apart. Ah, they may throw up blinders later anyway, so he doesn't set the opinions in stone, leaving them flexible.
"Right, right, Five-in-One, maybe you should go by numbers like one five seven. Six peas in a pod." Leo isn't happy with that thought as well, 157 drives him bonkers! The girls...don't, not yet anyway. "And...what embarassment?" It didn't register to him anything to be embarassed about, they were just being 'girls'...which to him, is something completely natural that girls do. Boy, are girls confusing! And frustrating. And painful. Again, thoughts he shuts down again. He finally just sighs, "Girls...," as if that explains everything, and it isn't just Cuckoos weirdness.
The girls spoke in unison, "We have reasons to not trust Yeweseisiel. We think he may be the vanguard of an alien invasion. Ms. Frost does not want us to probe him deeper, but he asks to many questions and his mode of speech is odd and comforting."
Sophie spoke up again, "The embarrassment was Esme's she shared what wasn't meant to be shared. Our thoughts are our own Leo."
All the girls seemed to smile for a second as they could here his mind complaining about girls and all the confusing, frustrating things. Esme spoke up, "Love life problems, Mr. Luthor."
Sophie looked at her and said, "Esme! Again?"
A deep frown at the mention of an alien invasion, and yes...Leo thinks about killing the boy right then and there, a practical response without feeling other than...a strong dislike. He doesn't care for aliens apparently? But Leo then decides to think on it later, displeasing Emma is not on his to-do list, so he would need to weigh the risks. "Shouldn't everyone's thoughts be their own?" He then raises an eyebrow at Esme, before his eyes narrow suspiciously. He then smiles widely, a grin really, "No such thing. It takes two to have a love life, and I'm only one. You will have to tell me how fun a love life of five is sometime." And he purposely pictures the girls kissing each other and cupping each other's bottoms in his head as he purposely smiles innocently. "Have a great day girls." He doesn't know for a fact, but his suspicions are strong, as he moves to take his leave.
Leo's hand moves to leave the back of Celeste's chair, his fingertips touching her for the first time as he purposely sends a slightly vibration down her spine...something gentle, as if he ran his finger down her spine as he leaves.
All the girls suddenly looked at each for a moment. Celeste actually shakes her head with an emphatic no but she is overruled. With that, suddenly, Leo's mind was filled with explicit images of the quintuplets and what they may actually do in there time alone, with there budding individual sexual desires required of them. And their oh so close natures, sharing a single mind and all.
A smile crossed Esme's lips even more as the idea of 'what they did to earn their role as prize pupils'
At that Sophie gave a glare to Esme and those images faded. Still the Cuckoos just proved that they are more than willing to mess with a mind if it meant distracting someone. Good luck not be noticed without a book being held in front of you Leo.