Teresa and Scott turned to see Warren standing there, his wings half-spread to keep his balance against the shaking ground. His expression was a mix of concern and frustration.

"Worthington," Scott sneered, but stopped himself from going further when he noticed the little girl clutching onto Warren tightly for balance. "Are you alright, Lily?" Teresa asked the long-haired blonde girl, who nodded gently, though fear and worry were evident in her eyes.

"Stopped by the common room and stayed there for some time, but Hank said that we needed to go back to our rooms and get some sleep, unless we got an injury from this whole thing," Warren explained, gently caressing Lily's head in an attempt to soothe her.

As Lily and Warren entered the room, Teresa stopped him by stepping in front, ensuring only Scott and Warren could hear her low voice amidst the frightened children.

"If Jean even had it?" Teresa questioned, her tone serious as she sought clarification.

Before Warren could respond, they heard a sniffle, and their attention shifted to Lily, who was struggling to maintain her balance. She nearly stumbled but Warren swiftly caught her, preventing her from hitting the floor. He glanced at Teresa and mouthed a quick "Later" before guiding Lily to her bed and helping her settle in.

Teresa only watched them quietly.

After making sure Sofia and Lily were well tucked in their beds and calmer than before, Warren turned off the lights and closed the door behind him slowly. "Jean didn't have a nightmare to create this earthquake?" Scott was the one to question Warren, still in a low voice, not wanting to catch attention from the other students who were also busy trying to balance themselves. There was a hint of fury and disbelief in his voice, and Teresa was quick to catch on that Scott thought Warren was implying Jean was purposely causing the earthquake.

"Look, Jean can lose control of her powers sometimes, but it's nothing to—" Scott began defensively.

"Warren isn't accusing Jean of doing this on purpose," Teresa intervened, stopping Scott from escalating the situation in the still-trembling hall. "He's saying that it might not be Jean causing the earthquake, but rather someone else."

Teresa's eyes flickered back to Warren, silently questioning if it was true, while Scott did the same, though still with a judgmental look on his face. Warren nodded slightly, steadying himself with a hand on the wall, although Teresa noticed he was the only one they had come across so far who managed to maintain his balance amidst the tremors.

Scott's impatience flared. "And what does that have to do with Jean?"

Teresa shot him a sharp look, her eyes narrowing in a silent reprimand. Then, Scott's expression shifted as he pieced it together. "Jean's room is on the third floor," he murmured in realization.

"It makes sense for everyone to think that it's Jean because she has done this before," Warren remarked,

"Forget about that," Teresa said, turning to face Warren directly. "I'm more interested in knowing who was actually responsible for the earthquake. They have to be wicked powerful."

Warren nodded in agreement. "Whoever it is, their power isn't a joke. It'll take serious control to handle it."

"Especially with no training beforehand," Teresa added, quite intrigued. "Any idea who it is?"

Warren shook his head, glancing at Scott with a hint of annoyance. "Well, I'm telling the both of you this because I thought Mr. No Eyes here would know," he said, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

"It's the fourth floor. How am I supposed to know?" Scott bit back, annoyance laced in his voice.

"What do you mean 'how am i supposed to know'? You're best friends with a teacher's pet. You're bound to know something about the students up there," Warren raised his eyebrow, not buying Scott's excuse.

"Did you forget about it again?" Teresa rubbed her forehead, understanding why Scott wouldn't know. "Unless they're still very young, the newest students are placed on the fourth floor, just like you and me when we first got here."

"Not like he was welcomed here in the first place," Scott muttered under his breath, causing Warren to shoot a death glare.

Teresa stepped between the two, ignoring the tension, as she continued, "There was a batch of new students yesterday. It makes sense for him not to know about them when even Jean doesn't. Apparently, the tour was supposed to be in the morning, but I did hear from Hank that some of them are pretty strong."

Warren crossed his arms. "So, it's not just one, but we have to deal with some powerful and untrained mutants making a ruckus in the middle of the night?" He shook his head. "Bloody brilliant."

"You're the one who makes chaos all the time," Scott snorted at the irony.

"Not at night, Summers," Warren retorted, giving a side eye. "I need sleep for my beauty, something that you obviously don't have."

"What's the need for sleep when you don't have any beauty in the first place?" Scott pointed out. "And I'll have you know—"

"Girls, girls, you're both pretty. And besides, if these earthquakes keep on happening, none of us are getting any sleep," Teresa interrupted, rolling her eyes at their bickering. She turned to Warren, looking for a lead. "Warren, did you catch a name or any description of the student mentioned in the common room? Anything that could help us figure out who's causing all this?"

Warren paused, furrowing his eyebrows in concentration as he thought back. "I heard someone saying something about a Horan girl," he recalled slowly, trying to piece together the scattered details. Scott's eyes widened in realisation as Warren's words sunk in.

"A Horan girl? The Horan sisters? I know them, but which one were they talking about? There's two of them," he said, before turning to Teresa who looked puzzled. "The Horan sisters are a pretty powerful duo, and you can tell just by looking at them. Elizabeth is the older sister and she's the one with blonde hair, rumoured to be able to look in the future. Hailey is the younger sister and she's the one with dark hair, not entirely sure of her powers, but rumoured to have telekinesis and mind control."

"So, it could be Hailey then causing all of this," Warren pointed out.

"It could be her, but the problem is we don't know that for sure," Teresa muttered thoughtfully. "We need to talk to her."

"To Hailey?" The two boys questioned in unison.

"No, to Jean," Teresa clarified, causing them to exchange confused glances. "Hailey is a new student, and it wouldn't be wise for us to confront her directly about her powers or accuse her of causing the earthquake. She doesn't know us and we don't know her. Besides, it could still be another new student rather than Hailey."

She paused for a moment, turning to Scott. "Are the Horan sisters twins by any chance?"

"Oh yeah, they are! I forgot to tell you that. Why? Is it important?" Scott asked, intrigued. Teresa just shook her head. "Just asking out of curiosity."

Scott was about to probe further when a voice interrupted from behind, "What are you three still doing here?"

The teenagers turned to see Hank McCoy struggling to maintain his balance. He wobbled slightly with each step, his glasses repeatedly sliding down the bridge of his nose only to be pushed back up in a continuous, almost comical cycle. Despite his precarious balance and the frustrating battle with his glasses, Hank's stern expression remained unwavering, his eyes boring into the three teenagers like a mother catching her children misbehaving.

"Shouldn't you be in your rooms now?" Hank's eyes flicked between Teresa, Scott, and Warren, but his gaze lingered on Warren the longest.

"The thing is—" Warren stammered, searching for words. When he glanced back for support, Teresa and Scott had already slipped away, leaving him alone. He turned back to face Hank, who raised an eyebrow.

"Go to bed now, Warren. The team will still have training tomorrow," Hank said firmly.

Warren groaned at the revelation, though he had half-expected it. "Can't training be delayed by an hour?"

"All this talking is time you could be using for sleep," Hank pointed out, his tone leaving no room for further argument. He adjusted his glasses again, emphasising his point. Warren groaned once more, defeated, and began trudging back to his room.

Meanwhile, Scott was dragging Teresa away by her arm, pulling her far from Hank and Warren to avoid trouble—and perhaps to get Warren in trouble. Teresa was a little annoyed at being hauled around the mansion, but she was more astounded by Scott's sudden burst of energy.

"What's gotten into you?" Teresa asked, trying to keep up with his brisk pace.

"We need to lay low," Scott muttered, glancing over his shoulder to ensure they weren't followed.

Teresa huffed, her annoyance growing. "You could've at least given me a heads-up before playing the 'hero'."

Scott smirked but didn't slow down. "I'm just trying to keep us out of trouble. Plus, we need our sleep for tomorrow, remember?"

Scott was right, especially since Hank planned to stick to the regular schedule tomorrow, meaning they would still have their classes.

•••••

Morning came sooner than Teresa would have liked. Though she longed to stay wrapped in the comfort of her blankets, she quickly got out of bed and readied herself for the day ahead. Her schedule was packed with classes until dinner, far busier than that of most other students.

As she stretched and glanced around, she noticed Scott's bed was already empty and untidy. He was likely already in training with the team. Their schedules differed significantly; being part of the team meant Scott often had early morning training sessions, much to his and Warren's mutual dismay, since their school schedules, including classes and training, often mirrored each other.

Teresa rubbed Lion's head affectionately, the wolf's ears perking up at her touch. She headed to the small fridge in her room and pulled out a fresh slab of meat, knowing Lion would enjoy it. Though Lion was more than capable of hunting for himself in the nearby forest— thanks to Charles's special permit —Teresa made it a point to feed him during bad weather or early mornings before her classes. It was a routine they both recognized and followed faithfully.

After ensuring Lion was well-fed, Teresa glanced at the clock. It was time to head to her first class. She grabbed her backpack and double-checked its contents. With a final pat on Lion's head, she stepped out of her room and made her way to the kitchen to grab a quick meal for breakfast.

The mansion was already buzzing with commotion, as expected. Students moved through the hallways, heading to their respective destinations. When Teresa arrived at the kitchen, the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and sizzling bacon filled the air. She quickly assembled a simple breakfast of toast, scrambled eggs, and a piece of fruit before finding a quiet corner to sit and eat, far away and distant from the other students.

She was deep in her own thoughts, considering the subjects ahead of the day, her eyes remaining unfocused. When a hand reached out for the toast on her plate though, Teresa's reflexes kicked in, and she immediately smacked the hand away, preventing the person from taking her food. She raised an eyebrow, unimpressed, at Peter Maximoff's attempt as he began to whine from the slap. "No need to get violent in the morning."

Teresa rolled her eyes and smacked Peter's hand again when he attempted to take her toast once more. "Get your own plate, Peter," she simply said, observing his sweaty figure and noting that he was in his hero costume, suggesting he had just come back from training. However, if Teresa remembered correctly, their training sessions were supposed to end in a few more hours, and even if Hank had given them a break, she doubted he would have let a sweaty Peter run around the mansion, especially with the busy morning rush and how mischievous Peter tended to be.

"Don't you still have training to do?" Teresa inquired, taking a bite of her toast and making her movements slower than usual to torture Peter.

Peter pouted, rubbing his hand where she had slapped it. "We finished early today. Hank said we're doing some extra drills later, so he let us off for breakfast."

"Hard to believe Hank would allow you to be in the kitchen again after last time," Teresa muttered, grimacing at the memory of the disaster that had taken place because of Peter and Warren and their so-called brilliant idea. The kitchen had almost blown up if it weren't for Jean's intervention. Sometimes, those two could be smart, and other times, people wondered if they shared half a brain cell with how idiotic their ideas could be.

Peter shrugged, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. "Hey, it was a learning experience for all of us. Besides, Hank said we're good as long as we don't touch anything except our food."

Teresa shook her head in disbelief. "Very comforting, just don't burn the mansion down," she added, seeing Peter about to speak, "in any part of the mansion. I don't want anything burning my stuff."

"No promises," Peter quipped, taking a bite of the scrambled eggs on Teresa's plate. She allowed it since she already felt quite full from the toast and apple. "Have you seen Jean, by the way?" he questioned, before using his superpower to grab a new plate and add more food, cutting through the line. Several students groaned or began to complain about him using his superpower to skip ahead.

Teresa shook her head, declining his offer politely. "Well, just don't let it be another kitchen incident," she warned. "And no, I haven't seen Jean this morning. Didn't she have training with you? She's part of the team," Teresa inquired, quite puzzled.

"She skipped training. No idea where she went," Peter shrugged. "Scott tried to talk to her, but when he came back, his right cheek was red. Apparently, she might have slapped him, or that's what Warren said."

Teresa raised an eyebrow. "Slapped him? That's unusual of Jean. Did Scott say why?"

Peter shook his head, taking a bite of his sausages. "Nope, but Scott looked pretty ticked off afterward. Whatever happened, it's probably something big."

Teresa hummed. "I'll try to find Jean after my classes. Maybe she'll talk to me," she said, silently recalling how Jean had asked for Scott and Peter. She decided to ask Peter later since she needed to head to class soon.

Peter nodded. "I'll try with Scott, but I can't make any promises. He was really pissed and took out most of his emotions on the dummies," he grimaced. "Ex-dummies, now they're just a bunch of pieces."

Teresa sighed. "Good luck with that mess. I've got to get to class first."

Peter gave her a thumbs up. "Good luck with your classes. If you find out anything about Jean, let me know."

"Will do," Teresa replied, giving him a small smile before grabbing her backpack and heading out of the kitchen.