Revolutionary
Jaqueris woke up around his allotted time and groggily made his way towards the bathroom. He'd now been at school a week and he had to say it was getting more and more comfortable. However a problem did register on Jaqueris' mind, the weekend was here and he had nothing to do. If circumstances were ideal he would return to the Bronx and spend time with his family, but obviously situations were not ideal.
Jaqueris looked at the two metal balls on his nightstand that stood in front of his family photo. The Professor had given them to him so that he could constantly work on improving his powers. He went through the normal morning procedures and went over to pick up the round metal spheres. They were cold to touch and moderate in size, each about the size of a tangerine; he rolled them together in his hands and tried to concentrate.
The headmaster had recommended that Jaqueris first put his efforts into levitating the balls before moving on to the next step. Jaqueris now had the orbs in his open palm, he pictured them lifting from his hand and becoming suspended in the air. He thought he was getting somewhere because he felt heat going to his palm he opened his eyes to look but was met with the disappointment of seeing the small globes still sitting in his hand. Instead he felt the sensation of burning arise in his hands as the metal increased in temperature. He dropped them instinctually to avoid any further damage.
He rubbed the slight burn with his other hand vigorously trying to comfort the throbbing redness on his palm. The Bronx native groaned in displeasure at this development or lack thereof. He then put them in his pocket and went over to collect his bag. He was going to walk out of the door before the glint of moonlight reflecting from the ball caught his eye.
Now Jaqueris hated to fail in fact one could probably call it an irrational fear, but what he hated more was quitting as that was unacceptable and that went doubly for him. So begrudgingly he walked over and retrieved his training tools and placed them in his pocket. Slinging the bag over his shoulder he headed to his quiet spot in the garden of the Institute.
Jaqueris didn't know who was going to be at the school for the weekend as he neglected to ask David or Pixie where they were going. He arrived at his destination and began to set up. He pulled a box out of his bag that read Chess Pieces. Before too long the pieces were set in their respective positions. Jaqueris pulled the metal balls from his pocket and began to roll them again as he stared at the chessboard.
Footsteps drew his attention from the board game as he turned to intercept his regular. "Laura. Hi." He called to the girl
"Hello." She said in a monotone way
Laura seemed to come here just as often as Jaqueris and seemingly at the same time, the two had conversed during their time here, or rather Jaqueris asked questions and Laura answered in a short to the point way causing many awkward silences.
"Hey, you wanna play chess, it's always more interesting when it's not just me." He invited
The girl did not answer but instead walked over to the bench and sat at the other end of the chessboard effectively saying yes. Jaqueris placed his metal beside him as he prepared to play.
"Alright, do you prefer black or white?" he asked ready to rotate the board as white was currently on his side
"It does not matter." She informed confidently
Jaqueris nodded and left the board the way it was. He moved his king's pawn two squares up allowing motion from his bishop and queen as well as placing a piece of his in the center. Laura responded in kind with a mirror image of the move.
"So Laura, why are you still here? I'm sure you've got some family to visit somewhere, right?" he said trying to make conversation as he moved another piece
Laura took her turn as she answered but Jaqueris noticed a microexpression of regret in her face, "Yes. My aunt Debbie and my cousin Megan, but I cannot see them at present."
Jaqueris knew that something unpleasant must have happened involving her cousin and aunt, from her expression, so he decided to change the subject.
"Oh. What about your dad? Where's he?" he inquired
Her reaction to this question was more profound this time with the hand she was using to reach her bishop freezing for a moment before moving towards the piece again. "My father," she said as if she was unsure, "is close by I see him almost every day."
Jaqueris made his move taking a pawn of Laura's, "And your Mom, what about her?"
The girl's physical response to this question was the most noticeable as she inhaled sharply, her eyes lowered almost drooping, and the corner of her mouth twitched. The most reflective reaction however was when she crossed her hands over one another effectively making a barrier between Jaqueris and herself.
Jaqueris immediately regretted asking such a intrusive question without thinking, her body language clearly conveyed that the relationship between her and her mother was not on the best of terms and was about to tell her she didn't have to divulge anything but she continued.
"My mother is dead." She finally said
She hugged herself around her waist protectively and Jaqueris noted how similar she appeared to a small child. Feeling like an A-grade butthole Jaqueris attempted to make amends by placing a hand on Laura's shoulder, but was prevented from doing so when metal claws ejected from in between Laura's knuckles.
Jaqueris retracted his hand quickly surprised by the two razor sharp blades. Laura instantly had an ashamed look on her face, "I am sorry, I will leave now." She said getting up
"No, Laura wait." He said as he lightly grabbed her wrist careful to avoid the claws, "It's fine, though I admit I was a little freaked out by that. You don't have to go anywhere."
Laura looked at him with a hint of astonishment in her eyes. Did she really think he was going to shun her because of her mutation? In any case she returned to her previous seating position and moved her piece taking a knight of Jaqueris.
"So that's your power huh? What else can you do?" he wondered trying to relieve the tension
Laura was still recovering from Jaqueris' questioning as she was lightly rubbing her left elbow. "I have heightened senses and a regenerative healing factor as well as a third adamantium laced claw that protrudes between my first and second phalange located on my foot." She explained as if reading from a text book
Jaqueris glanced at Laura's foot as she mentioned this before he moved his queen into the fray robbing Laura of her bishop, Jaqueris had no idea what adamantium was but assumed it was the metal around the claws, "That's interesting" and he was not lying, "At least you can control yours. I can't even lift two little metal balls." He said holding the mentioned items up in his hand before placing them beside him once again
"Do you possess telekinesis?" she asked and Jaqueris was pretty sure that was the first question she had asked him
Jaqueris didn't know what that meant but using his rather large vocabulary he came up with moving with the mind "Uh…no electromagnetic control. Fundamental force of the universe." He said the last part with added mystery to try and incite a laugh from Laura.
His efforts however seemed futile as Laura did not respond how he had hoped. "But you know Laura I just realized we have more in common that the fact that we both play chess." He said
Laura moved her queen and removed Jaqueris' bishop, "What do you mean?" she asked
Laura seemd more involved in the conversation now however he wished it didn't have to happen the way it did. "I mean we've both lost someone very important to us. We've both lost our mother." He moved his rook into play and captured Laura's knight
She seemed to be considering something and Jaqueris didn't think it was the chess game as she wasn't in a particularly hazardous position. Jaqueris took this time for some self reflection, he normally avoided all thoughts pertaining to his family's demise, but it felt good to finally tell someone about it, it relieved the pressure if only slightly.
The two continued playing in silence for a while. Jaqueris took note of the fact that Laura was an attacker type player, the kind that relentlessly pursued their opponent, beating them back until they couldn't fight back. This was in contrast to his style which was far more subtle; he preferred laying traps for his adversary and lead them into their own defeat making his victory smooth.
He also noticed how their playing styles reflected their respective mutations. With Laura's power he assumed she was right in the middle of the action and was constantly on the offensive, and while his powers could be overt they could also be the opposite.
Silence now hovered over their game until Laura made the move of castling effectively putting her king in a protective barrier.
"That is another trait we share too." He said as he made a move of his own taking another piece of Laura
Laura raised her head showing she was waiting for his explanation as she made a somewhat strange move, "We both have a problem with engaging new people. Instead we set up barriers to isolate ourselves in the hopes in can protect us from getting hurt. There is one problem though."
"Is it not wise to protect oneself from harm?" she questioned
Jaqueris considered this before answering while he moved his King to protect himself from being put into check, "Always Laura, but the problem isn't trying to protect yourself, the problem lies in isolation. You see no matter how much we want to deny it we people are a social species. We seek others for protection, for comfort, at the risk of being hurt in the process."
"Why would a person do such a thing if pain is almost assured?" she was now very interested in the conversation as she was leaning forward slightly and giving Jaqueris strong eye contact.
"It's because it's better than the alternative. To be alone is to be defeated; by yourself you have no allies to come to your aid and nowhere to escape danger. Because even if you have no friends, you will always have enemies. So it is better to mingle and risk the pain of rejection because once you do gain friends then at least when trouble comes you're not facing the threat alone." He finished as he moved a knight to protect his king
Laura studied the chess board, Jaqueris had effectively moved his pieces in a way where is King was almost completely protected by lesser pieces, almost. Laura made a sacrificial move that Jaqueris bit on opening up his defense.
"You are correct in your assessment of our similarities. However you were slightly mistaken in one aspect." She informed
Jaqueris quirked an eyebrow at this remark, "Oh, and what is that?"
Laura moved her piece into the hole that Jaqueris had unwittingly revealed earlier, "I am used to being alone." She said as she delivered checkmate
Jaqueris gazed at the board in disbelief and saw the predicament he was in. He studied from various angles and saw said situation was very bleak. He put his index finger to his forehead as his thumb held his chin. He closed his eyes as he tried to envision an escape route to this predicament.
Laura watched the boy as he began to go into a thinking position. Laura thought about what he had said, from the conversation they had she saw that he was far more insightful than the vast majority of people his age. He had a certain maturity about him allowing him to understand the world in a mostly unbiased format. The Wolverine clone had to admit it was quite…refreshing.
Laura continued to wait patiently for him make a move but movement caught her attention out the corner of her eye. The metal balls that Jaqueris had placed to his side began to shake slightly before they floated into the air. They rose until they were hovering beside Jaqueris' head and then they began to revolve in a circular motion.
"Jaqueris." Laura called to him
He opened his eyes slowly at his name; he was going to ask her what she needed, before he spotted the two orbs beside his head. The levitating spheres surprised him as he lost his concentration causing the orbs to fall to the ground and him knocking the chess pieces to the floor.
"Oh, crap, Laura can you help me pick these up?" he asked
Laura complied as she crouched down. They had collected the majority of the pieces save for one more the black queen. Both of them reached for the piece at the same time, but Laura's hand arrived slightly before his, but Jaqueris didn't perceive this as his hand landed on top of hers.
They both rescinded from the unexpected contact. Jaqueris lifted his head to apologize but stopped when he met Laura's emerald eyes. He never noticed before how much they shined, but now he did. He could smell her scent from this close he couldn't make out if it was natural or the result of shampoo.
Laura did not break the gaze either, but she was still slightly surprised when he held up the piece between their faces. "Last one." He said as he laughed nervously
He then stood with Laura following behind him. "Wolverine wishes to see you in the Danger Room." She said suddenly
Jaqueris put on a confused expression at the mention of "Danger Room". "Why didn't you tell me that before." He said it not in an accusatory tone but that didn't stop Laura from looking at him in a minor ashamed way
"I was.. distracted." She said
Jaqueris nodded as he put his pieces back in their proper places as Laura did the same. He also made sure to return the balls to his pocket.
"You're gonna have to show me, cause I have no idea where that is." He admitted
Laura brushed a stray strand of hair from her face before she walked past Jaqueris. He didn't follow immediately taking his time to look into the air; the sun would be high in the sky soon.
The two walked in silence as Laura led Jaqueris to the subbasement area leading to the training room. She stopped in front of the door and turned to Jaqueris indicating he was to enter alone.
Jaqueris walked towards the door and it opened automatically, Jaqueris stepped inside to view a spherical chrome room.
"I am sorry." Said Laura
Jaqueris turned around to ask for what before the door behind him closed abruptly. His instincts immediately went on edge as he stepped backwards until his back was against the wall. He felt the wall to find it didn't feel like a wall.
He turned to the entrance had become a large rock and now the entire room resembled a lush jungle. Green trees rose far into the sky, as the moon cast down its soft light. Needless to say Jaqueris felt it was impossible for a room to shift into a jungle in the span of a few seconds, but that was what was occurring.
Up in the control center which was obscured now because of the transformation of the landscape, Wolverine watched to boy carefully. The door opened behind him, but Logan didn't need to look to know who it was, he knew his own smell better than anything.
"Good job, kid, getting him down her and all without him finding out what he'd be doing down here." He congratulated
His clone walked up beside him as she observed Jaqueris. He was walking around cautiously as he tried to discern any visible threat.
"Was this necessary?" she asked
Logan noticed the amount of concern subtly present in her voice. "Don't worry X, the settings are on the lower levels and the lasers are set at stun." He informed
"Lasers?" she said to herself
Jaqueris was being viewed through a red lenses that had a reticule focusing on his torso, with several circles radiating outwards. A strange whirring sound rung through the air as a flash of red light shot through the green brush and headed towards Jaqueris.
Jaqueris held up his hands to his chest as the blast struck him and lifted him off his feet causing him to land a few feet backwards.
"Wow, that was quicker 'an I expected. Guess we better go get him." Said Logan as he turned towards the doorway
Laura however did not follow him as she was still looking downwards at Jaqueris, "He is not defeated." She said
Logan stopped and looked back before he returned to his original position. "What are yer' talkin' about he got hit square in the chest." Said Logan
Laura simply pointed and said, "Look."
Logan peered closely at the scene in front of him. Jaqueris was breathing heavily as he recalled what just happened. He had been attacked from an unknown source firing lasers, he heard the blast approaching him with the distinctive sound it made, similar to the sound a hot pocket made when it was rapidly heated still inside the plastic wrapper, he put his hands up instinctively to defend himself and was sent flying once it contacted with him.
He landed roughly and felt the slight pain in his tail bone from the fall. He expected this to be the least of his problems after realizing he got hit with a laser. However this was not the case as he could still feel the heat the laser was giving off as he was holding it in his hands. It illuminated brightly in his hands before dissipating into them.
"He…caught it." Said Logan in shock
Laura said nothing and continued viewing.
Jaqueris quickly rose to his feet to try and make out his assailants. However he couldn't make out anything due to the brush obscuring his vision.
Just as this thought passed his mind, his vision changed. Instead of the normal human sense of sight he normally possessed he began to see images in colors of red. "Thermal Vision." He said to himself. Trees and plants gave off no such light appearing a blank gray color but what did proved to be interesting.
A humanoid figure was standing within the brush and seemed to have a gun attached to its arm. It was slightly hunched over and had large three pronged toes which looked similar to hind legs. Looking closer Jaqueris realized it was not alone there seemed to be 4 more robots accompanying it.
The robot jumped high into the air and was going to land on Jaqueris until he rolled to the side. For some reason Jaqueris felt the urge to go into his pocket. He reached inside and pulled out the two orbs. He could feel a certain field encompassing the orbs and was drawn to it.
"Here goes nothing." He said holding the ferrous spheres out in his outstretched hand.
One of the spheres zoomed out of his palm at great speeds, and pierced through the head of the robot causing it to fall to the ground. The body quickly disappeared as it no longer gave off a heat signature.
The other four robots decided to join the fray as they landed in front of mutant. Jaqueris quickly pointed his hand in the direction of the leftmost robot ending it the same way as his metallic companion. Jaqueris then realized that he had effectively lost his only two offensive weapons.
The three remaining robots seemed to notice this as they opened rapid fire on Jaqueris. He put up his arms in anticipation of the pain that was sure to follow, but it never came. Jaqueris put down his arms to see that the robots were still firing, but the lasers stopped several feet in front of their target.
Going on instinct, Jaqueris drew back his arm before pushing forward. The robots were thrown violently from the ground and cut through the air and landed hard. Jaqueris took this time to catch his breath, before his hands began to crackle with strong currents of electricity.
Not wanting his enemies to recover, he rushed towards the nearest automaton and delivered a strong right uppercut. Surprisingly, the blow didn't hurt Jaqueris, but the machine wasn't so lucky. Jaqueris then sent a bolt to a robot to his left, when it struck the robot shook fiercely before blowing up into a magnificent explosion.
Jaqueris then felt a numbing pain his right arm as a laser struck him. He remained on his feet however and avoided another projectile by rolling away. He quickly assessed that his arm was paralyzed. The robot that was responsible took aim and was about to fire another shot when a white light melted through the gun and half of its body. It exploded moments later as the light in Jaqueris' eyes died down.
Jaqueris stood as he felt the opportunity for a respite. However this was short lived when he spotted movement within his peripheral vision. The robot he had struck was still operational. It herked and jerked uncontrollably as it made its way towards Jaqueris.
It didn't get far before its movement stopped. It fell to its knees as if a great weight had appeared on its back. It shuddered before sparks began to fly out of its body, its arm snapped in half as its body flattened like a pancake. A large crater appeared as the ground gave way under this mysterious pressure.
Jaqueris scanned the area with his thermal vision to ensure he was totally alone. The visage of the jungle began to disappear as the room returned to its normal appearance.
The entrance that had previously disappeared reappeared and opened as Logan and Laura walked inside.
"Thanks for the warning guys! I really appreciated it!" he said visibly irritated
"You're welcome." Said Logan, he then glanced at the arm Jaqueris was holding limply by his side.
"Don't worry about that arm. You should have yer feeling back in about 30 minutes." He informed
"Why'd you do this?" Jaqueris said looking at Laura
Logan moved into his gaze, "Don't go blaming her I did it because the Professor wanted to test a theory and I decided this was the best way to go about it."
"A theory?" he questioned
"Yeah, this little exercise proves your powers are emotion based. Meaning you flip out, things blow up. That's why the Professor wants you to take meditation classes." He said gracefully
Jaqueris listened to this, but he also caught the subtle meaning between the lines, he was too dangerous to just be he had to be trained. This revelation didn't entirely sit well with him as he brushed past Logan and grabbed his backpack.
He quickly left the Danger Room and ascended to the surface, despite Logan stating his arm would be fine in 30 minutes he could already feel his arm again and could already clinch his fist and move his arm up and down.
He exited the elevator to find quite a few students in the building, he even spotted David with Sophia and a metal girl with red hair, but he wasn't in the mode to talk to anyone so he took an alternate route.
He went out the back way to his "spot" which was sure to be empty. He was however rebuffed when he heard talking.
"Hurry up and pass it over here." Said a voice Jaqueris recognized as female.
"Don't get your panties in a bundle." Said another male voice
Jaqueris carefully walked into the garden and rounded the corner to see a boy with brown hair standing at 5'8" he was with a girl who had similar hair and black eyes. They were holding a black canister with a red X enclosed in a circle resembling an inhaler.
"What are you two doing?" Jaqueris questioned without thinking
The two looked surprised at his appearance as the girl quickly hid the canister.
"Look if you two are getting high, I don't have a problem, I'll just be leaving…" he said
"Wait" called the boy "You don't have to go anywhere we were just doing some Kick." He informed putting his hand on Jaqueris' shoulder
Jaqueris felt a lurching sensation when the boy touched him as if he was the most repulsive thing he'd ever seen, but fought it for courtesy's sake.
"What's Kick?"
The boy looked at the girl as they both laughed at an unknown joke. The boy held out his hand and the girl threw the canister to him.
"It gives you extra control and power." He said smiling
"Over what?" Jaqueris questioned suspiciously
Something about this boy rubbed him the wrong way like there was something sinister just beneath the surface.
"Your mutation of course. Also it feels pretty damn good doing it, too." He said offering the canister to the boy
Jaqueris looked at the small item with apprehension, he knew a bad situation when he saw one and this was definitely one. Still that didn't mean he wasn't susceptible to its influence. He also felt something in the back of his mind egging him on to take the Kick.
"What's your name?" asked Jaqueris
The boy smiled with this creepy grin, "Quentin Quire."
A voice pushed him subliminally and it was stronger this time, but Jaqueris felt like it was his own mind pushing him to take the bottle.
"Go on, what could it hurt?" it said seductively
And Jaqueris wondered what could it possibly hurt?
Man I always write chapters worrying about not being able to get to a certain amount of pages, but I always manage to go overboard. Anyway leave your reviews so I can continue writing.