A/N: Ugh, this chapter took FOREVER for me to write. I kept having trouble with how I wanted it to go, and got a bad case of writer's block in the process! This time around, there's a bit more to Kitty's story revealed, and the gang heads to the mall, as the title suggests. Also, John meets the Brotherhood members for the first time.
Disclaimer: I don't own it... well, I own John and other O/C's but that's it.
Chapter 4 – Bayville Mall
It was almost 3:00 when Lance caught up to Kitty in the hallway of the school. The last period had started, but both of them had classes where their absences would go unnoticed, and they both knew it. Having said that, it was pure coincidence that they encountered each other in the otherwise deserted hallway.
"Kitty, I really need to talk to you." Lance was persistent, but Kitty wasn't listening. She ignored him and moved on past him to wherever she was heading, but he had one more thing to say. "I heard about what happened. I just wanted to say I'm sorry."
"Yeah, I'm sure Kurt appreciates your concern, considering you tried to kick his ass earlier today." Kitty's anger was apparent in her voice. It was an emotion that she rarely showed, and thus it took Lance a few seconds to recover from his shock. She started walking again, but he found his voice before she could get too far.
"I meant about what happened back home." Katherine stopped dead in her tracks at this revelation. She knew that he'd find out eventually, but she hadn't expected him to be sympathetic. Apparently he really did care about her feelings.
She turned to him and smiled softly. "Thanks, Lance." The anger had completely vanished from her voice. She had kept everything to herself, even Kurt and the Professor didn't know about what had happened. She'd found out last night, of course.
"If there's anything you need, I'm here for you." Lance had stepped closer to her as she was consumed with her thoughts. "Someone to talk to, a shoulder to cry on, anything at all, all right?"
"I appreciate the gesture, Lance." She hugged her friend, but then pulled away. "But I have Kurt for that." She smiled at him, almost apologetically, then turned and walked away, disappearing down the corner of the hall.
Lance was left somewhat stunned by her last statement. He'd hoped he had found a way to get back in her good graces, but apparently she was going to deal with it on her own. Lance turned and walked the direction he had been heading before spotting his former girlfriend. "I swear, Kitty, if I ever figure out who did it..." He was so consumed with his thoughts that he failed to notice that their entire conversation had been heard by an unfamiliar man.
John was aware that something was bothering Kitty. She'd been angry at him since Kurt got injured, sure, but today she was even more upset than usual, and John knew it even before he'd spoken to the elf that morning. John wasn't dumb enough to ask her what was bothering her, he knew he wouldn't get the answer he wanted. So he decided to let things play out. It was just by chance that he had been heading toward the principal's office when he heard Kitty and Lance talking.
John could tell that Lance was a mutant, and since John hadn't seen him at the mansion, he was forced to assume that Lance was a member of the Brotherhood. He didn't want to expose himself any more than necessary, so he decided to remain out of Lance's sight for now. Once the mutant had turned the corner, John finished making his way to Principal Kelly's office.
Upon reaching the principal's office, he found the door closed, so he knocked first. Once the secretary told him to come in, he entered, and told her he wanted to speak to the principal. After a few minutes, the man in question came into the office himself.
"Good afternoon, sir, how can I help you?" Kelly extended his hand, which John took.
"I was told that I should come talk to you. My name is John Kerogi, and I'm a new employee at the Xavier Institute." John noted that the other man's mood and expression changed when he brought up his employer. It wasn't hard for John to pretend he hadn't noticed, though. ""Since I'm going to be picking up some of the students after school, Professor Xavier thought I should introduce myself to you first."
The principal looked John over carefully. The mutant had changed out of Scott's clothes into the battered attire that he'd worn when he arrived at the mansion a week earlier. The holes had been stitched up, but it was obvious that his clothing was about ready to fall apart around him. He was also wearing the shades he always had on when in public. "I would have thought they'd tell you it was impolite to be wearing sunglasses indoors."
John simply smiled at the suggestion. "I am well aware of that, however, I happen to have a rather visible eye condition and I've found that wearing sunglasses tends to make people more at ease than I would be without them."
The answer seemed to satisfy the man, as he decided to return to the original topic. "So what do you do at the Institute?" It was obvious the principal was trying to be polite. He didn't like the Institute, though it wasn't clear to John why. The mutant simply smiled and responded as politely as he could.
"We're actually still working that out, I was hired over the break even though there wasn't a position open. I'll probably end up being a language teacher or translator."
"What would they need either of those for? We offer foreign language courses here." Principal Kelly seemed almost incredulous at the prospect.
"The Institute deals with people from all over the world. And although most of the students speak English quite well, some of their families don't. It also helps that I can provide one on one instruction if it's needed."
John's explanation seemed to calm down the administrator. "I suppose you're right on that account, though I have to ask how you know other languages. You don't exactly look like a college scholar."
John chuckled slightly at Kelly's remark. "No, I'm not. Both myself and my father were in the military, and I spent most of my life in Europe. As such, I'm familiar with a few of the more common languages used there."
Before Kelly could respond, the bell to end school for the day rang out. As the noise in the hallways increased, he realized that the conversation was over. "Well, it was good to meet you. Good luck with your new job."
"Thanks. Good luck keeping all these kids in line." Kelly smiled and nodded as John left the office, closing the door behind him and heading for the building's exit.
"Hey, Kitty, come on, let's go find Ororo and go to the mall." Kurt grabbed Kitty's arm, but she jerked away from his grasp, causing him to stop and look at her with a lot of concern. "What's wrong, Katzchen? You know you can tell me."
"I... it's nothing, Kurt, don't worry about it." Kitty sighed and took his hand.
"I can't help it, Kitty, I am worried. It's not usual for you to be this angry. Please, tell me what happened."
"Maybe later." By now the couple had exited the building and Kitty spotted Storm's vehicle, which John had borrowed. "Ah, there's the Jeep, but where's Ororo?"
"I'm afraid that there's been a change of plans." Both of the teens turned to see John behind them. While Kurt was smiling a bit at his friend's appearance, Kitty's scowl had only grown. None of this went unnoticed by the psychic mutant. "Sorry, Kitty, but I need to go to the mall myself, so Ororo asked me to take you two with me."
Kitty groaned and walked toward the Jeep, getting in the back, with Kurt getting in next to her. John shook his head and got in the driver's seat. As they pulled out, John looked at the female in the mirror. "I understand you're in Driver's Ed right now. I'll let you drive back to the mansion when we're done."
"Gee, thanks." Kitty's voice was dripping with sarcasm and anger. "How is it you have a license when you've been in the country a week?"
John just sighed. He knew now that something was bothering her other than his actions a week earlier, so he tried to be kind. "I have had a license since I was 18." Kitty accepted that answer, and was angrily quiet after that. The ride to the mall was quiet, Kitty's mood seeming to permeate the entire vehicle.
Once they arrived, the three got out and formed a plan to meet later. "How long will you two need?"
"A couple of hours should be more than enough." Kurt commented.
"All right, we'll meet at the food court at 6 and I'll buy dinner." Kurt nodded and he and Kitty went into the mall. John locked up the Jeep, then followed them.
"Hey, John!" The mutant hadn't gotten very far past the door when someone called out to him. He turned his attention to the girl who'd spoken, to see her bouncing up to him happily.
"Hi, Jubilee, how did you get here so fast?" He'd met her a couple of times during the week he'd been in Bayville, though they really hadn't spoken.
"Oh, my last period is a study hall, so sometimes I sneak out and come here instead." John nodded at her explanation. "So, why are you here?"
"I'm actually here to get some new clothes. The ones I've been wearing are..."
"Not you." She giggled as she spoke.
"It's that obvious?"
"You look better in what you have on now, though it looks like it's seen better days." She smiled at the elder mutant and grabbed his arm. "Come on, I'll show you where the best spots are to get what you need."
"I'd appreciate that, thanks." John smiled and walked along with her through the mall.
By six, John had managed to spend over half of what Storm had given him. He now had enough clothes to last for more than a week, as well as some fancier attire for special occasions and a new jacket to replace his old, beat up one. As promised, he and Jubilee met Kurt and Kitty at the food court and John bought each of them dinner. Kitty's sour mood was still apparent, but the four of them still managed to have a halfway pleasant conversation.
"So, John, what was your childhood like?" Jubilee had heard, just like everyone else, about John's history with the Organization. But, also like everyone else, she knew nothing about his life before that. John knew this, and he sighed, as he knew someone would ask eventually.
"It was..." John stopped to think about what he was going to say for a few seconds. "I suppose it was like anyone else who's the child of a soldier."
"But didn't you say he retired?" Kurt was curious as well. He'd heard John mention a few things about his early life, but nothing specific.
"Yes, he did, when I was five. After he retired, he became employed by a friend of his who'd served with him. He worked as a private security guard for various VIPs and companies. Most of the time he worked for this Japanese guy, I don't remember his name now, though." John was silent for a few more seconds, but the memory was avoiding him for now. "At any rate, my dad was good friends with this other guy in Japan, Master Kasi, and he allowed Kasi to train me to fight, as well as Tom, the son of my dad's friend."
"That sounds nice." Kurt's pleasant mood and comments made John smile a bit as he acknowledged his friend.
"Yeah, it was. Kasi had a beautiful home and dojo up in the mountains where he took us to train us. He usually let us spar against each other since we were his only students at the time, with just a bit of instruction where he saw fit to provide it. I remember Tom was a little bit arrogant, he refused to believe that I was better than him. One day we were fighting on the edge of a cliff on Kasi's property and I was doing even better than normal, and it infuriated him. He charged at me blindly, and when I sidestepped him, he hit the rope railing along the edge of the cliff so hard that he broke it and went flying off the side."
The three others gasped at this story. "Did he..." Kitty couldn't even finish the question, but she didn't need to. John was well aware of what she was asking and shook his head.
"No. The cliff was about fifty feet or so high, but when he fell, somehow the broken rope got wrapped around his arm. He fell about six or seven feet before the rope's slack ran out and slammed him against the cliff face. I thought he'd died as well and started calling for Master Kasi, when he started yelling at me to pull him up." John laughed a little bit at the memory. "I was seven years old at the time, Tom was almost a full year older than I was, and quite a bit bigger, so it took me a while to pull him up."
"So, he was glad you helped him?" John shook his head at Kurt's assumption, laughing slightly once again.
"No, actually, he started berating me for taking too long to pull him up. At some point, Master Kasi had come down to check on us, and when he heard Tom's response to my help, he ended up using his ability to send him right back over the cliff. His arm was still caught in the rope, so he ended up as he had been when he first went over. Kasi told me to leave him to help himself up since he didn't appreciate my help the first time. It took Tom over an hour to climb back up, and by the time he did, he'd actually managed to separate his shoulder."
Jubilee had caught John's terminology in his story. "He used his ability? You mean Kasi was a mutant?"
John smiled at the question. "Yes, he was."
"And your parents knew that?" Kurt was realizing what John was saying now.
"Yes, they did. In fact, that's part of the reason they wanted him to train me. They knew that it would be a matter of time before the existence of mutants became public knowledge, and they wanted me to not be afraid of them, of you." John paused for a second in his explanation, realizing they may not know what he meant. "They didn't know that I was a mutant, nobody did. I was too young for my powers to show, and neither of my parents were mutants. They wanted me to be comfortable around mutants, even if I wasn't one, because they knew that they would face persecution simply because of what they are."
"So, your parents got you used to being around mutants? Guess you were pretty lucky." Jubilee was quite amazed with his story, as was Kurt.
"Yeah. My dad said that a mutant had saved his life once. He always said that mutants weren't any different than humans, there were good and evil ones in their group just like there are in humans. Tom's dad, he wanted the same thing, though I don't think Tom was quite as comfortable around Kasi as I was. I got the impression that he was a little bit... angered by his presence."
Kitty had become quite interested in John's story, which was surprising to the elder mutant. "So, what happened next time you two sparred?"
John's smile faded at that question. "We never got the chance. Six months later my family was in Europe and I got kidnapped. I haven't seen or heard anything about either of them since that time. Hell, I don't even know if either of them are still alive."
Jubilee, realizing what he was saying, suddenly leaned over and hugged her friend. "I'm sorry, about everything." John smiled at her, but he was cut off before he could begin to reply by a new voice.
"Well now, what do we have here?" Everyone's attention turned to the new person, as they saw Lance and Todd walking, or in Todd's case, hopping, toward them.
Kurt's disdain at the new guests was immediately noticeable, though he tried to put on a pleasant attitude. "What do you two want, Lance?"
"Yo, man, we wanted to see this new guy we'd heard about." He looked right at John. "So you're the new brat at the Institute huh?"
John simply chuckled at Todd's remark. "Brat?" He looked at the unusual looking mutant for a second, then turned his attention back to Lance. "I've been called much worse."
"Yeah, well, you're just lucky you're not a student. If you were, I'd have no problem showing you who's boss."
John noticed as Lance spoke the feint bruising on the left side of his jaw. "You mean like you showed whoever did that to your face?"
Lance's expression changed almost immediately from one of confidence to one of anger. It was obvious that John had hit a nerve with the boy, and Kurt's snickering on the other side of the table definitely wasn't helping.
"Yo, man, what DID happen to you anyway? Who'd kicked your ass during lunch?"
Kurt couldn't help himself as he burst out laughing, causing all attention to turn to him. Kitty already knew it was Kurt who'd hit Lance, but the others were clueless. Todd got the hint and stared at the elf in disbelief. "YOU did that?" Kurt simply nodded, he couldn't stop laughing.
"You're lucky you're hurt, elf, otherwise I'd have you laying on the ground right now!" Lance was definitely losing control of his anger, and John realized the conversation needed to end quickly.
"I don't think you really want to start trouble here... Lance, was it?" Lance began to reply, but shut his mouth quickly as he looked down. John had folded his arms in front of him, and in his right hand was a small fireball, pointed directly at Lance's groin. To anyone else, it would look like John had a lighter in his hand that he'd turned on, but Lance could see the difference.
"I... uh... Todd, we should probably be going now."
"What? But we just got here!" Before Todd could protest any more, Lance had grabbed him by the collar and started leading him away from the group.
"What was that all about?" Jubilee was just as confused as the rest of the mutants at the table.
"I take it those two idiots are in the Brotherhood?"
"Ja, Lance Alvers, he calls himself Avalanche, and Todd Tolansky, Toad." John nodded at Kurt's information. He fell silent for a few seconds after that. "Vat is it?"
"They really aren't that evil. They are susceptible to suggestion, and their loyalty will be to whoever can treat them as they believe they should be treated, but I don't see them as a real threat, at least not on their own."
"It's true, Lance and Todd aren't really evil, though they are mischievous. It's their masters, Mystique and Magneto, that lead them to cause most of their trouble." John nodded to Jubilee.
By that point, the group had all finished their food, and the were ready to go. As they started to leave, something caught John's eye. He pulled the Jeep's keys out of his pocket and tossed them to Kitty. "You three go ahead and I'll meet you at the Jeep. I have one more thing I want to do before I leave." The three nodded and headed for the exit, as John slipped into a shop he'd spotted.
A/N: It took me a while to get John's story right. I kept thinking on how I wanted it to go, and for much of the planning, I had just the last half of the story being spoken, the rest implied. In the end, I realized it wouldn't make a ton of sense to do it that way, thus the whole story is in here. I MAY revisit the ideas of that story at a future time, though I haven't decided yet.
Next time, the fallout of Lance, Toad, and John meeting. I'll add another mutant to the brotherhood, and someone from the first story will return.
As always, please leave a review or a criticism?