Author's Note: Owing to the fact that I got flamed by some cowardly bastard who didn't even sign the review, I am now resolving to use those flames to help me learn Fire Spin so I can roast anyone who flames me. ( I am a fire-type, after all. ) My ego is very delicate and has taken years to build. So if you don't like the X-Men or Team Rocket then don't read this or keep your damn comments to yourself! ( Roasts Ash's Pikachu in anger ) Note to Ice Princess: Sorry Gambit wasn't in Chapter 1. But it's got me thinking…Why not throw in all the X-Men? Thanx for the inspiration! ( Licks Ice Princess since Rapidash can't hug-wait, if I don't have hands, how can I type? Oh well…whinnies )
Chapter 2: James' Story
Xavier's School for the Gifted, Westchester County, New York
December 1, 2000
7:15 A.M. Something big, hairy, and heavy awoke Jessie from her light slumber with its slobbery licks. Great. A dog. Just what I've always wanted, she thought with extreme sarcasm. Sitting up, she found not only the dog, which to her looked like an abnormally sized Siberian husky, but also a huge white Siberian tiger staring her in the face. She sweatdropped. The dog, upon seeing her awake, let out a strangled bark that was more like a howl. In an instant, James was at her bedside. After patting the dog on the head, he turned his full attention to Jessie. Noticing her politely puzzled expression, he smiled wryly.
"So I take it you're not so used to being awakened this early; or by a wolf for that matter, are you?"
"No, actually, I'm-wait. Did you say that was a wolf?" Jessie backed up as far as her headboard would allow. James gave her a strange look, and nodded slowly. "B-but don't wolves eat people?" James laughed.
"Really, love, you've been watching too much television! Do you really think I'd keep Sapphire or Diamond if they were truly dangerous? The Professor would have me out of here faster 'n a Thoroughbred being chased by killer bees!" This calmed Jessie down immensely. She hesitantly reached out a hand to Diamond, the white tiger. He reached up and sniffed her hand. Finding he liked Jessie's smell, he began to rub up against her outstretched hand and arm. Jessie giggled. "See, I told you they're not dangerous. Diamond really likes you! You have to learn to trust me a bit more than that, Jessie." Blushing, Jessie nodded.
"I'll work on that." James grinned, and then looked at his watch.
"Oh, no! I'm late!" Just before he dashed out, James called, "See you in class, love!" Nodding, Jessie stood up and went into her bathroom to take a shower. As the hot water cascaded down her body, something struck Jessie. Wait, did he just call me love?
At precisely 8:10.45 A.M., Jessie slipped into first period-Physical/Life Science. She slid into her seat, praying the teacher wouldn't notice she was late. Then…"Miss Parker, you're late." Jessie cringed. "Since it's your first day I'll let it go-but it better not happen again. Understand?" Jessie looked up.
"Yes sir." The teacher was sitting behind a computer, completely blocking his face from view. Suddenly, he stood up, but even then Jessie couldn't see his face, the room was so dark. "Um, sir? M-may I explain why I'm late?" The teacher chuckled, then nodded, the motion evident-even in the darkness. "Er, well, today I was woken up by this really cute guy and I sort of dropped into this, um, reverie-type thing and by the time I snapped out of it, the clock said 7:59 so I went as fast as I could-" The teacher held up a hand.
"Mind running his name by me, Miss Parker?" Jessie nodded. "Uh, his name is-" At that moment the teacher stepped into the light. Jessie's jaw went slack. "James?!" For indeed, standing in front of Jessie, looking the exact opposite of what a formal male teacher should look like, was none other than James himself. He was wearing a loose ratcatcher shirt, tight fawn riding pants, and black leather boots reminiscent of the silver ones he wore with his X-Men uniform. Blue hair tied back haphazardly, he hardly looked like he belonged anywhere else but a stable. However, there was a proud, fierce look about him that commanded unwavering respect and obedience from his students. And from the looks of things, he got it. James was looking down at her with his mouth a thin line. Arms crossed, his expression gave no impression of the James she had known fifty-five minutes ago. Instead, with his jaw set and his lips a nearly invisible line, the teenager looked as though he had suddenly aged twenty years. But then, Jessie thought, I don't know how old James is, anyway. For all I know he very well could be in his thirties.
"I'm flattered that you think I'm cute, Miss Parker, but while we're in class, you can't call me by my first name. After all," James said with a smirk, "I'm not calling you by yours." Jessie wrinkled her nose.
"So, what can I call you?" Jessie was being sarcastic, and it showed.
James narrowed his emerald eyes to slits. "You can call me Professor Woodson," he snapped, "just like your classmates." The Professor turned on his heel and walked up to his desk. "Today, we will be observing the ability of a common chemical bond of two atoms Hydrogen and one atom Oxygen, grouped together in billions of molecules and held in an area with a volume of 27 l x 15 w x 12 d to fluctuate. Any questions?" The class looked like it had gone straight over their heads. Quickly a hand shot up. "Yes, Miss MacLeod?" The girl blushed.
"Um, Professor, not meanin' to be rude, but dinna you think we should have that in English?" Professor Woodson looked flustered.
"Uh, we're going swimming in the heated pool for class today?" The class cheered. "Y'all have ten minutes to get changed!" Professor Woodson grinned. The class, and he, were finally getting a day off. He shook his head. His curriculum just didn't allow for much time off. Shrugging, he walked out.
Exactly ten minutes later, the class was splashing around in the pool-sans Jessie, Marjorie MacLeod, and Samantha Lipscomb. As Jessie tested the water with her foot, a voice behind her said, "Hey, y'all must be Jessie. I'm Sam, and this's Marjie." Jessie wheeled around to find two girls, obviously Sam and Marjie, standing behind her. The one she presumed was Sam had pale skin, sepia eyes, shoulder-length sepia hair with white bangs that reached her chin. Her bikini was black with two horizontal dark purple stripes on the top, and two vertical ones on either side of the bottom, which reminded Jessie of a pair of shorts. Marjie was tanned, had mousy-brown hair, and hazel eyes. Her one-piece was a dark blue at the bottom, gradually getting lighter as it went up. These girls seemed pretty normal, that is, until Jessie saw their wings. Makes since, she thought, their wings prevent them from any contact with water! Jessie smiled. "I'm Jessie Parker."
Marjie grinned. "So, it's you who the Professor was pickin' on this mornin'!" Jessie blushed. She was pretty sure she'd heard Marjie right; though her heavy Scottish accent made the words run together. Sam rolled her eyes, then smirked. "Well, duh, birdbrain, otherwise he would've been barking at Lauren and Jennie all morning." Marjie giggled. "So, d'ya wanna swim, or stand around and talk?" Sam smirked, then pushed Marjie into the pool. Breaking the surface of the water, Marjie held out her hands, then whimpered, "Sam, pull me out, that wasn't fair!" Shrugging, Sam reached out and grabbed Marjie's hands, only to find herself in the pool immediately afterwards. Gasping for air, she rested her chin on the side. "Why do I even bother…"
Not twenty yards away James sat on the deck chair, still in his riding habit. Hearing something, he leapt up. "Guys, I think y'all should get out of the pool before something-" James' last sentence was cut short by an almighty crash. Wheeling around, he caught a glimpse of a titanic hole in the trees beyond before feeling a huge clawed hand catch his throat and lift him a foot into the air. Sabretooth…
Jessie screamed as the huge mutant lifted James into the air. He looked completely helpless, and as the class watched in horror, their teacher's eyes began to go white, presumably the whites of his eyes as they rolled back into his head. James' hands dropped from Sabretooth's wrist. He was either unconscious or dead. And still Sabretooth held on to the throat of the blue-haired mutant, seemingly waiting for something…but what? Then, out of nowhere, a huge jet of water, probably from the pool, came hurtling towards Sabretooth's right side, the side that held the arm that held James' throat in its deadly vice-like grip. Just as it hit, the water froze and sent Sabretooth reeling. Dropping his catch, of course. James hit the ground and made no motion to get up.
Jessie ran towards her friend, ignoring the horrible feeling in her stomach. As she put a hand on James' shoulder, he got up with a painful grunt. Opening his eyes, Jessie saw that they were still white, but now they glowed like lasers, with blue energy crackling around them. When the energy would collide with itself, a spark would give off small chips of ice. James focused his unblinking stare upon Sabretooth, who had gotten up off of the ground, and ran towards him. Just before he collided with the lion-like mutant, James jumped into the air, flipped over Sabretooth's head, backflipped twice, and, with a powerful roundhouse kick to the head, sent the mutant flying again. Sabretooth recovered quickly, and, as James was about to deliver a flying side kick, grabbed James' ankle and flung him into the pool. With an unearthly scream, like the shrill whistle of a fighting stallion, or the scream of a cougar, James broke the surface of what was left of the pool water. His eyes were blazing, and as he floated up on an icy wind, the blue aura around his body was palpable. With another scream of fury, James held out his hands. The ball of ice gathering in them was enough to turn a bull elephant into a solid block of ice. Needless to say, Sabretooth got blasted off.
With a small click of his heeled boots, James stepped onto the side of the pool. He smirked, seeing all the astonished faces. "Class dismissed."
That evening Jessie let herself into James' room, marveling at how much it resembled an apartment. Hearing the sound of running water, Jessie shrugged and walked over to his bed. Sitting down, she saw a peculiar bottle of pills sitting on the nightstand. After a close scrutiny, Jessie figured they were steroids. Panicking, Jessie picked them up and bolted for Professor Xavier's office.
"Professor!" Jessie cried. He looked up. "What's wrong, Jessie?" Jessie handed him the pills. After a glance, Xavier looked up again. "Jessie, did these, by any chance, come from James' room?" She nodded. He sighed. "Jessie, sit down."
"Now Jessie, your intentions were noble, but let me explain. When James was thirteen, he was sent to take part in a science experiment, along with four others. For a year these children were injected with growth hormones, steroids, and the like. After that year, four of them had died. But fourteen-year-old James, who by then had reached roughly the size and weight he is today, survived. Then, undergoing the same procedure Logan did, adamantium was surgically grafted to his entire skeletal structure. Only his ability to heal saved him. Lastly, a computer chip, which allows him to scan things and learn everything about them-which is why James is a teacher, not a student-was implanted in his brain.
"Unfortunately, this entire procedure, coupled with his phobia of being stalked, gives him seizures. He is still conscious during them, however, and just long enough to take those pills in your hand, which stops it. But even then he still shivers afterwards. So I would advise you to give him back his pills."
Jessie was shocked. "One more thing. When James gets angry, watch out for his forearms. The adamantium fins in there are extremely dangerous…" But Jessie's sudden departure cut Xavier off. He smiled, knowing of Jessie's true feelings for James, and continued to grade his papers.
Jessie threw open the door to James' bedroom and set the pills on the nightstand. She stifled a sob as she saw James laying on the bed, dressed in silk, powder-blue pajamas, shivering. Throwing her arms around him, Jessie let the tears flow. "I'm sorry…" she whispered. Craning his neck around, James looked her straight in the eye. Turning over all the way, he whispered in her ear, "It's okay. Don't worry about it." Jessie held him tighter. "I'm staying with you tonight…So it doesn't happen again." James blushed, the red of the underlying blood contrasting sharply with his white skin. Jessie smiled gently, and as James drifted off in Jessie's arms, he somehow knew, in the subconscious of his mind, that Jessie was a woman he could finally trust…trust enough to silently promise her his heart.
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