(A/N: Hey, guys. I've skipped about two days between the last chapter… I'll reiterate this in the actual story. Enjoi!)
John rolled to his feet after taking a sharp blow from a robotic arm in the danger room. He stood up straight and concentrated hard, and a suit of robotic armor began to form around him. He grew to 7'2" and chuckled, his voice now deeper and more metallic. He likened this steel armor to that of a Sentinel's form, except his helmet was more of a human look, minus any nose and mouth you might see. His chest, other than the cannons and rockets of a sentinel, was covered in separate steel plates that made up the pecs and abs of a humanoid, but of course steel. He caught a robot arm and pulled, forcing his velocity away from it to yank it out of the wall. He staggered back, unable to compensate for the sudden change of weight. He dropped the arm and leapt backwards. The boosters in his feet ignited and with a lurching sensation he flipped over, severing the flow of his power to return his velocity back to normal. He crashed into Gambit, just back from his July 4 excursion the other day, and they both went tumbling to the ground. Returning to his normal form, John rolled off him. "Ah… sorry, Gambit." The red- eyed cajun chuckled a bit. "Don' worry 'bout it mon ami. You'll get into the groove." He rolled to his feet, casually sidestepping a robot arm. He slid his finger across it as it passed and the arm began to glow. John armored up and grabbed Gambit, spinning around to use his broad armored back to take the explosion. He felt a wave of heat wash across his shoulders, then let Gambit go and stepped away, kicking at the robot arm as Kurt 'ported kitty into the controll hub and she shorted it out. John smiled inside his helmet. "Arright! That's endgame." He powered down and stretched. Staying in his armor for too long tired him out drastically. The professor turned on the P.A. system and cleared his throat. "Well done X-Men. Strafe, your fitting in nicely." John felt a flicker of pride. He had chosen his X-name himself, and he liked that the others seemed to like it as well. X-23 jogged up, sheathing her claws. With her, Scott. John scratched his cheek. He and Scott had become good friends, he and Gambit even more so. But his best friend was Kurt, and when he appeared with Kitty he laughed and slapped him five. Kurt gave him a fanged grin. "Vondebar! Zhat's ze best time yet!" Scott nodded. X-23 subtly slid into place in the circle next to him as they all joked. After they were done talking and the group broke up, it formed the standard groups: Kitty and Kurt walked out to go shower, with Scott right behind them. Gambit waltzed off to find any girl he could, and John walked with X-23 to the kitchen so he could snack. They had also become fast friends, but a different friendship. X-23 was quieter, not as raucous. They didn't joke as much as he and Kurt, nor did they argue as much as he and Scott. It had been two days and John was settling into the institution well... better than even the professor had thought he might (His steel colored skin was a bit off- putting... Well, kinda). X-23 yawned, bringing her arms up in a petite motion that belied her harsher character. John sympathized with her… being alone, not trusting anyone. However there was still one thorn in his side. A very loud, obnoxious thorn. Who could freeze stuff. Bobby Drake, Iceman, slid around the corner. "Hey, X." He stopped next to her before they could enter the kitchen, smiling his dopey smile. "Getting somethin' to eat, huh?" John rolled his eyes and slipped past him. "Yeah, I was just in there earlier." John probably should have realized something was wrong when he said that. Bobby wasn't a snacker, he didn't eat a whole lot. But his brain was still cooling down from the danger room session and he had point three seconds to realize as he opened the fridge that the pie was going to hit him like a bullet. Unfortunately even with his reflexes he wasn't able to avoid the terrible impact of the cooled treat. His head snapped backwards. He heard X-23 giggling and decided it might be good to vacate the area.
When Kurt finished washing himself down and brushing his fur he vacated the shower. He 'ported directly into his room. Pulling on his usual weekend clothes he proceeded to teleport into the living room, where Rogue and Gambit were having the usual argument. "Not on yer life, cajun!" "Ah, but cherie, it isn't my life I bet!" They vaulted over the couch and around it again, Rogue giggling lightly. "Go find someone else to annoy, Remy, Ah've got no patience for ya!" "Oh, Rogue, you wound me." He mock swooned and waltzed out the door. Rogue followed him, shaking her head. That was when Kitty slipped into the room. She saw Kurt and blushed a bit, sitting down on the couch and expecting him to port, he could tell. He ignored his mind's ponderings and sat down next to her. "Keety… About before, I-" John stormed through the door, still wiping pie from his face. Bobby came after him, X-23 following. She looked confused, as if she had done something wrong. Kurt grimaced. Always the wrong time. That's when he felt a buzz in his head that preceeded a telepathic message. X-men! We have trouble. Assemble in the x-jet hangar immediately.With that Kurt grabbed Kitty and ported, witnessing John wiping the rest of the pie off his face and sprinting out of the room, Bobbie and X-23 hot on his heels.
Far above the city the meteor- like balls of fire streaked towards the earth, leaving a trail of smoke smeared across the evening sky. Their earthbound trajectories planted them in separate places, one in the city downtown, one in the forest by the institute, one at the pier on the other end of town, and one in the Bayville High football field. The smoke cleared, and a single figure rose from the crater, surveying its surroundings. The steel man climbed from the crater and tromped towards the middle of the city, mirrored by the other four, overturning cars in their wake.
X-23 had known something was wrong. When Bobby had entered she had smelled the fresh pie on his hands but didn't think it would be a problem. Poor John… She felt horrified that she had actually giggled when he got pied in the face... it was kind of funny but she would have rather had John not be on the 'cause' end of her humor. Bobby had been hanging around her all week, now she realized why. He felt threatened by her closeness to John. When she thought about it she realized she had felt threatened too, but had gotten over it. She walked silently beside Bobby and when they reached the X-Jet hangar, Professor X, Logan, Beast and Storm were already waiting there. Storm must've just gotten back. The african weatherwitch smiled warmly at X-23 when she saw her. X-23 waved back, then focused her attention on what the professor was saying. Bobby yawned, sliding an arm around her shoulder. X-23 didn't resist. She had always sort of liked Bobby. She heard John shift uncomfortably next to her. She felt torn. Suddenly something the professor said broke through her thoughts. "- metal figures headed towards the center of town." What? Surely it couldn't be another sentinel. Could it? No, the sentinels were huge. She focused now on what the professor was saying. "There are four of them, so we'll be dividing into four teams. Bobby, X-23, Scott, Hank, you'll all be headed for the one from the docks. Jean, you, John, and Storm will be stopping the one headed from Bayville High. Logan, you take Kurt and Kitty and stop the one from downtown, and lastly, Rogue, Gambit, Rahne, Sam, Robert and Amara will be stopping the one from the forest. X-Men, move out. And so it was. X-23 threw a forlorn look over her shoulder at John, who turned away and followed Jean and Storm to the X- Helicopter, named the Velocity. Odd that they should choose that mode of transport. She let Bobby steer her onto the X-Jet, and watched Kurt, Kitty and Logan run for the garage elevator. She sighed. Bobby sat down and she sat down in a chair in the opposite row. Scott looked back at them, Beast dropping into the copilot seat. "Ready?" Everyone nodded. "Ok, let's go stop a metal man!"
John had an uneasy feeling in his stomach. He didn't know why, but he had a feeling it would take a lot more than the three of them to stop whatever these things were. As the Velocity lifted off the ground John clenched and unclenched his hands, feeling anxious. Jean smiled warmly at him. "Don't worry, John, You'll do fine." He realized that this was his very first mission and that only added to his anxiety. He nodded to Jean and Storm called back from the cockpit. "Yes, we will finish this mission in time for a midnight snack." As they flew John realized that the day had given way to night. He sighed and rubbed his head. "Anyone else getting some serious bad vibes about this?" Jean giggled. "Only yours, and not because of the mission." John made a face. "It's bad enough that it's my first mission, your reading my thoughts about X-23 now too?" Jean and Ororo both laughed. Jean flashed him a bright smile. "I was referring to your airsickness."
Kurt sat in the passengers seat while Logan drove them downtown. "So, vhat's the deal vith zis steel guy? Are ve just going to dismantle it first, ask questions later?" Both Logan and Kitty gave him a 'duh' look. Kurt threw his hands up. "Oh, my bad for asking a civilized qvestion." He made a face that made Kitty laugh. Kurt leaned against the door, putting his cheek on his hand. His tail twitched next to him. "Like, why so tense, fuzzy?" Kitty blinked, still turned around. "I am nervous for John. Zis is his first mission and I vant him to do well." Kitty smiled at him. "You got a crush on him?" Kurt hissed at her. "Nien! I'm merely worried! Zis mission seems too simple." Kitty recoiled as he hissed at her. "Like, wow, chill. I know your nervous." Kurt reached forwards and put a hand on her shoulder. She looked back and smiled. Then they ran into something and Kurt was sent rocking forward, hitting his head on the seat in front of him with a dull thunk. "Scheisse! Vhat vas zat for, Volverine!?" The veteran pointed slowly at what was holding the front of the car down. Kurt's stomach blanched. This was going to be VERY difficult.
(Woot! What is brewing in the world of X-Men? Well I'm sorry to stop this at such an inconveinient time –cough- love it -cough-… but rest assured, the… well I dunno how many of your are reading it at the time I'm posting this… I guess it's just Nightcrawler's Shadow and Pride… Well, whatever. Till next chapter! And it'll be starring some commentary with a certain blonde ninja… BECAUSE I CAN!)