Writer's note: Jonathan Starsmore a.k.a. Chamber is a canon character of
the x-men comic series "Generation X". To see a neat picture of Chamber
using his powers go into my profile and click on my homepage URL.
In addition, if anyone is a linguist and has any tips for writing a London accent they will be much appreciated!
*= telepathy
Chapter one: Arrival
"Flight 712, London to Boston is now debarking at Gate 9."
The words of the recording reverberated through the young man's head as he walked out of the gate onto American soil for the first time in his life. And slightly too his chagrin, things he found did not look too much different. His legs were still slightly cramped from the non-stop one-way flight, making for a slightly unbalanced gait as he merged into the crowd.
*Too many bloody damn people* he commented to himself as he angled his way towards the hallway where he had been told he would be met at. Perhaps a sigh would have accompanied his comment if this had been before his mutation. Before Jonathan Starsmore (known to most as Jono) had erupted in a great blast of pisonic energy that had destroyed all in its raging warpath including Jono himself. He had technically died that day; his heat, lungs, and trachea had been consumed and cindered out of existence. Only leaving a hollow chamber where the energy that now replaced his heart and lungs as his life giving force now rested, always waiting to flare up once again when necessary. It was only a tiny act of mercy from the God that had surely made this his fate to give him the gift of telepathy so that he could still speak.
His face, neck, and chest (even though covered by a pure black t-shirt) were wrapped in dirtied bandages to hide his gaping scar that would never heal. The theories obviously passing through the minds of those he pasted as to his strange outfit were many. He was a movie star trying to go about incognito, he was a burn victim that was still healing, he was a Goth with a fashion statement. His black drapery and leather jacket supported the last hypothesis quite well. Or perhaps, as the precocious British child back at the London airport had quipped..
"'E's the prince tryin' to 'ide 'is teeth!" Even though he would have never admitted it, that was Jono's favorite guess.
Then there was the idea from the suspicious and even bigoted minds that he was a mutant hiding his mark of genetic difference. However, with the intense look in his brooding brown eyes, and his demeanor that seemed to forewarn of disastrous consequences if he was rubbed the wrong way. It was enough to keep even the bold from saying anything to him. Therefore, as the seventeen year old made his way through the crowd, he managed to have enough leeway not to be jostled and was only given curious looks and comments were withed until he had passed.
His eyes finally fell upon what he was looking for as a gruff looking black haired man half-heartedly held up a sign that read "Xavier Institute"
Jono paused, knowing it could be for no other. This was it, this was truly it. After all those agonizing months of uncertainty of what his fate would truly be, here he was just seconds away from it. He was going to go to the now infamous mutant school that was now known worldwide. He and Gayle had even spoken included it in their conversation before his chest had violently burst open, the explosion catching her at point blank range. Crippling that beautiful angel forever. He felt guilt rise up in him yet again, and he accepted it because it only reinforced what he truly saw himself as now. Jonathan Starsmore, the monster. The freak of nature who was suppose to be dead, who was being cooked from the inside out, who could it seemed at any moment maim again. That was part of the reason he had even bothered to board the plane and just try to forget about his old life. He had been told he could be helped, that he could learn to "control" what had both killed him yet somehow was saving him. Jono doubted just how far this help could go. After all, wouldn't he always need the energy to live? Moreover, as long as he had it, wouldn't he still be able to harm again?
That made for the second reason he was here, across the ocean, or as he would have phrased it "across the pond" from his native London. There was just nowhere else for a person with half a face and a fireplace for a chest to go. He had spent the last four months gawked at and prodded by doctors who just couldn't get enough of his abnormality. And like all beings with dignity, Jono had gotten tired of it. Despite his self-loathing, he had taken the chance of something better.
"You Starsmore?" The man most called Wolverine' deep voice interrupted Jono's maelstrom of thoughts.
*Yes, I am..* he answered pushing some of his stray reddish-brown hair out of his face. As usual he hadn't bothered to brush it much (orientation or not) and with the flight it was now laying in all direction from his head.
"I'm Logan; I'll be one of your instructors at the institute." Told him as he rose to both look the boy over and hold out his hand for the customary handshake. Jono took his hand finding himself to actually be about an inch or so taller than the impressive Canadian.
*Me full name is Jonathan, but I prefer Jono,* the Brit informed him, since it would seem that Logan had introduced himself in a causal manner as well. However, something told Jono Logan was not exactly a liberal teacher. In fact, he wondered what the man's power was since he lacked a physical one like Jono had been expecting. Logan nodded and turned to lead the newest recruit to both get his luggage and then to the X-van.
"So I heard you're from London, that's going to be quite a change." Logan said after a few minutes since Starsmore didn't seem too keen on making conversation. Very much unlike most new recruits who by now be going a mile a minute with questions. Whether Logan liked it or not, he wasn't sure. It was nice not to have someone chattering your ear off, but he felt it was part of his duty as a teacher to at least get to know every student a little bit.
*I suppose, not t'at I'll be getting' out too much.* Jono responded a bit darkly even though he was preoccupied with looking into the various shops that lined the left side of the wide hallway.
"Well...Don't worry, life's never really gets that boring at the mansion. The kids are always up to something." Logan responded not letting Jono take the chance of forcing Logan to dwell on the fact that he had a severe mutation. Much to Logan's chagrin, after living with mutant teenagers for so long he knew the tone. He thought of the recent prank pulled on him by what Xavier called the "wave of the future", someone had had the nerve to break into his personal stash of beer and replace it with Kool-aid. And despite all of his threats, he still didn't know who had done it. It made him wonder at times, why he bothered to stick around.
While Jono did nod he didn't answer, lost in his own thoughts and broodings again. He and Logan did manage someone small talk however when Logan causally noticed a guitar case as a part of Jono's luggage.
"How long you been playing the guitar?"
*Since I was twelve and it was tis very guitar, wouldn't 'ave any other,* Jono answered looking over the sticker covered case as a young mother might her infant.
"Were you ever in a band?" Logan asked, noticing how the boy seemed to be opening a little.
*Yep, spent most of my teen years playin' in clubs. We even 'ad a tape to 'and out..* he trailed off, recalling once again how he had let down his band mates. How he had set the band back that they had dedicated their youth to. How he could never feel the thrill of being onstage ever again. With the realization thrown up in his face again he turned quickly from Logan saying, *Well, come on, like to be 'ome before sunset.*
*Logan, I trust you had no problem with gathering young Mr. Starsmore?* Came the voice of Charles Xavier into The Wolverine's head as he sped down the bridge into downtown Bayville.
*Yeah, I found him Chuck,* Logan replied glancing at the boy who sat besides him looking out the window half-interestedly. *We'll probably be home within twenty minutes.*
*Excellent, I shall summon the other students to form a welcoming party.* Xavier told Logan.
*Right Chuck,* the telepath left his mind, leaving Logan to his own thoughts. He looked sideways at Jono again and thought, 'I hope the kid lightens up soon, otherwise things ain't going to be easy for him.'
All right people there's the first chapter and the equation is:
Reviews=fast writing & a happy me.^^
In addition, if anyone is a linguist and has any tips for writing a London accent they will be much appreciated!
*= telepathy
Chapter one: Arrival
"Flight 712, London to Boston is now debarking at Gate 9."
The words of the recording reverberated through the young man's head as he walked out of the gate onto American soil for the first time in his life. And slightly too his chagrin, things he found did not look too much different. His legs were still slightly cramped from the non-stop one-way flight, making for a slightly unbalanced gait as he merged into the crowd.
*Too many bloody damn people* he commented to himself as he angled his way towards the hallway where he had been told he would be met at. Perhaps a sigh would have accompanied his comment if this had been before his mutation. Before Jonathan Starsmore (known to most as Jono) had erupted in a great blast of pisonic energy that had destroyed all in its raging warpath including Jono himself. He had technically died that day; his heat, lungs, and trachea had been consumed and cindered out of existence. Only leaving a hollow chamber where the energy that now replaced his heart and lungs as his life giving force now rested, always waiting to flare up once again when necessary. It was only a tiny act of mercy from the God that had surely made this his fate to give him the gift of telepathy so that he could still speak.
His face, neck, and chest (even though covered by a pure black t-shirt) were wrapped in dirtied bandages to hide his gaping scar that would never heal. The theories obviously passing through the minds of those he pasted as to his strange outfit were many. He was a movie star trying to go about incognito, he was a burn victim that was still healing, he was a Goth with a fashion statement. His black drapery and leather jacket supported the last hypothesis quite well. Or perhaps, as the precocious British child back at the London airport had quipped..
"'E's the prince tryin' to 'ide 'is teeth!" Even though he would have never admitted it, that was Jono's favorite guess.
Then there was the idea from the suspicious and even bigoted minds that he was a mutant hiding his mark of genetic difference. However, with the intense look in his brooding brown eyes, and his demeanor that seemed to forewarn of disastrous consequences if he was rubbed the wrong way. It was enough to keep even the bold from saying anything to him. Therefore, as the seventeen year old made his way through the crowd, he managed to have enough leeway not to be jostled and was only given curious looks and comments were withed until he had passed.
His eyes finally fell upon what he was looking for as a gruff looking black haired man half-heartedly held up a sign that read "Xavier Institute"
Jono paused, knowing it could be for no other. This was it, this was truly it. After all those agonizing months of uncertainty of what his fate would truly be, here he was just seconds away from it. He was going to go to the now infamous mutant school that was now known worldwide. He and Gayle had even spoken included it in their conversation before his chest had violently burst open, the explosion catching her at point blank range. Crippling that beautiful angel forever. He felt guilt rise up in him yet again, and he accepted it because it only reinforced what he truly saw himself as now. Jonathan Starsmore, the monster. The freak of nature who was suppose to be dead, who was being cooked from the inside out, who could it seemed at any moment maim again. That was part of the reason he had even bothered to board the plane and just try to forget about his old life. He had been told he could be helped, that he could learn to "control" what had both killed him yet somehow was saving him. Jono doubted just how far this help could go. After all, wouldn't he always need the energy to live? Moreover, as long as he had it, wouldn't he still be able to harm again?
That made for the second reason he was here, across the ocean, or as he would have phrased it "across the pond" from his native London. There was just nowhere else for a person with half a face and a fireplace for a chest to go. He had spent the last four months gawked at and prodded by doctors who just couldn't get enough of his abnormality. And like all beings with dignity, Jono had gotten tired of it. Despite his self-loathing, he had taken the chance of something better.
"You Starsmore?" The man most called Wolverine' deep voice interrupted Jono's maelstrom of thoughts.
*Yes, I am..* he answered pushing some of his stray reddish-brown hair out of his face. As usual he hadn't bothered to brush it much (orientation or not) and with the flight it was now laying in all direction from his head.
"I'm Logan; I'll be one of your instructors at the institute." Told him as he rose to both look the boy over and hold out his hand for the customary handshake. Jono took his hand finding himself to actually be about an inch or so taller than the impressive Canadian.
*Me full name is Jonathan, but I prefer Jono,* the Brit informed him, since it would seem that Logan had introduced himself in a causal manner as well. However, something told Jono Logan was not exactly a liberal teacher. In fact, he wondered what the man's power was since he lacked a physical one like Jono had been expecting. Logan nodded and turned to lead the newest recruit to both get his luggage and then to the X-van.
"So I heard you're from London, that's going to be quite a change." Logan said after a few minutes since Starsmore didn't seem too keen on making conversation. Very much unlike most new recruits who by now be going a mile a minute with questions. Whether Logan liked it or not, he wasn't sure. It was nice not to have someone chattering your ear off, but he felt it was part of his duty as a teacher to at least get to know every student a little bit.
*I suppose, not t'at I'll be getting' out too much.* Jono responded a bit darkly even though he was preoccupied with looking into the various shops that lined the left side of the wide hallway.
"Well...Don't worry, life's never really gets that boring at the mansion. The kids are always up to something." Logan responded not letting Jono take the chance of forcing Logan to dwell on the fact that he had a severe mutation. Much to Logan's chagrin, after living with mutant teenagers for so long he knew the tone. He thought of the recent prank pulled on him by what Xavier called the "wave of the future", someone had had the nerve to break into his personal stash of beer and replace it with Kool-aid. And despite all of his threats, he still didn't know who had done it. It made him wonder at times, why he bothered to stick around.
While Jono did nod he didn't answer, lost in his own thoughts and broodings again. He and Logan did manage someone small talk however when Logan causally noticed a guitar case as a part of Jono's luggage.
"How long you been playing the guitar?"
*Since I was twelve and it was tis very guitar, wouldn't 'ave any other,* Jono answered looking over the sticker covered case as a young mother might her infant.
"Were you ever in a band?" Logan asked, noticing how the boy seemed to be opening a little.
*Yep, spent most of my teen years playin' in clubs. We even 'ad a tape to 'and out..* he trailed off, recalling once again how he had let down his band mates. How he had set the band back that they had dedicated their youth to. How he could never feel the thrill of being onstage ever again. With the realization thrown up in his face again he turned quickly from Logan saying, *Well, come on, like to be 'ome before sunset.*
*Logan, I trust you had no problem with gathering young Mr. Starsmore?* Came the voice of Charles Xavier into The Wolverine's head as he sped down the bridge into downtown Bayville.
*Yeah, I found him Chuck,* Logan replied glancing at the boy who sat besides him looking out the window half-interestedly. *We'll probably be home within twenty minutes.*
*Excellent, I shall summon the other students to form a welcoming party.* Xavier told Logan.
*Right Chuck,* the telepath left his mind, leaving Logan to his own thoughts. He looked sideways at Jono again and thought, 'I hope the kid lightens up soon, otherwise things ain't going to be easy for him.'
All right people there's the first chapter and the equation is:
Reviews=fast writing & a happy me.^^