"We'll go flying." - Jonny
October 5th
Early Morning
Midnight Melee
It felt a little weird for Jonny to share a bed with Kelly. Perhaps if they had slept apart with their backs facing each other he would've felt less awkward, but that just wasn't Kelly's style; she was a snuggler.
It made sense, of course. It was October and nights in the hidden subway station were cold and drafty. Kelly would cuddle up her warm body to Jonny's and lay her head on his shoulder and it suddenly wasn't cold anymore. They would talk quietly, lying in each other's arms until one or both of them fell asleep.
While Jonny had no real objections to this, he couldn't help but feel his relationship with Kelly was somehow unnatural. It was like hitting a baseball and running straight for third base; they were skipping steps. Although he had only known Kelly for a few days, Jonny had a special connection with her. There was a loving bond between them and an intense intimacy that somehow existed between them that wasn't necessarily built on romantic feelings.
Though that didn't mean Jonny didn't think about Kelly that way. It was hard not to, really. Kelly's touch was warm and soft. She slept in a not so long tee shirt that Jonny couldn't help but notice showed off her long, toned legs. Jonny normally slept in just his boxer shorts but, when he found out he would be sharing a bed with his new friend, he had opted to keep on his jeans for propriety's sake. But Kelly would have none of it. She was a notorious snuggler and the denim was rough on her legs. So even that tiny barrier between them was stripped away.
Kelly also had a severe lack of modesty. They shared a room and she showed absolutely no embarrassment or hesitation in changing clothes right in front of the flabbergasted cowboy. Jonny tried to look away each time and give her privacy, but his inner gentlemen only went so far. He found himself wondering if Kelly's blasé attitude about nudity was a result of self-confidence in her body - which she had absolutely no reason not to be - or if it was just with him in which she felt comfortable enough to expose herself. The answer was terribly important for a reason Jonny couldn't quite put his finger on, but he never asked.
They were infinitely times closer than they had any right to be after only meeting a few days ago. They acted like old lovers. It was entirely Kelly's fault. Her openness and affection had eaten away at the tentative barrier Jonny subconsciously had to keep strangers at a bit of a distance. There was a kind of feeling out period when he first met someone; a kind of cautious banter that sometimes went for days until he felt comfortable with them and trusted them. Kelly had bypassed all of that immediately and had earned a place for herself in Jonny's heart.
Jonny was asleep in their shared subway car room and it was many hours before dawn. He was content and happy, lying on his back with Kelly huddled up to his side. He had been dreaming, but about what he couldn't say. And then he couldn't breathe.
"!!!!!!!!!!"
Can't breathe!
Jonny's eyes popped open to see a black and orange masked face over him. One of Slade's training robots throttled him, squeezing his throat with hard metal hands. Jonny struggled, but the robot held him tight. He couldn't call out and his oxygen deprived brain couldn't think of a song. Black spots danced teasingly in front of his eyes.
Help me, Amber!
And then Kelly was there.
WHAM!
She knocked the robot's head off with a single, super-powered punch. The decapitated carcass of the robot released Jonny and fell ponderously to the floor. Jonny gasped, coughed and sucked in air.
"T-thanks…" He choked out.
Kelly was about to reply when the train lurched and began to chug forward.
"We're moving!" Jonny said. "What's going on?"
Kelly looked around the dark room grimly.
"This must be some kind of training session Slade thought up."
"But why now?" Jonny wanted to know.
"He probably wants to see how we'll do when we're not ready." Kelly said. "You don't have your lasso and I don't have my bow." She licked her lips. "This way!" She decided.
Jonny followed her to the next car.
"Where are we going?"
"The robots will be here any second." Kelly explained. "I don't want to destroy our room dealing with them."
Jonny followed her into an antechamber between two subway cars. Kelly climbed up a ladder and Jonny did the same, careful not to look up. When the two of them emerged onto the roof the subway train had worked its way up to full speed. Jonny shivered as the whooshing cold air whipped against his bare skin and tugged at his hair. The edge of Kelly's tee shirt billowed and danced over her thighs.
And then, just as Kelly had predicted, the black and orange robots showed up. They appeared all at once as a unit, as they always did. Some climbed up similar hatches Jonny and Kelly had used to come up while others climbed up from the side windows. When it was all said and done, twenty or more robots stood on the roof on either side of them.
"I'll handle this!" Jonny said confidently. He grabbed Kelly by the shoulders and maneuvered her in front of him. With her in a safe place, he planted his feet and stretched out his palms in opposite directions at both groups of robots. Then he sang:
"Blow blow Seminole wind! Blow like you're never gonna again!"
Twin wind funnels shot out of each of his palms. They sent both groups of robots sliding and tumbling, but only a few fell completely off the train. Claws emerged from their hands, scraping the metal roof of the train to slow themselves. Sharp spikes came out of the soles of their feet, planting them in place and allowing them to advance despite the gusts.
Jonny allowed the wind to die out.
"Didn't see that coming." He muttered.
Kelly clenched her fists.
"Looks like we're gonna have to get our hands dirty." She said.
Jonny hummed and a flashing whip of electricity appeared in his hand.
"I reckon so."
"Go!" Kelly shouted.
They charged down the train in opposite directions, each at a different group of robots. Kelly punched through two robots and then stumbled as a third jumped on her back. The robot wrapped his arms around her throat in an effort to choke her, but Kelly reached behind her head and grabbed him. She slammed him hard onto the roof of the train, spun and flung him into the rest of the group.
Jonny arced his electric whip around the ankle of a robot and pulled hard, yanking his legs our from underneath him and sending him falling. The boxer clad cowboy jerked the whip free, twirled it over his head and slashed it into the chest of another. Then he went to the well once to often. When Jonny attacked with the whip again, a robot lifted his gauntleted arm to block. The electric whip smoldered and wrapped around his forearm. Jonny pulled, but the robot's spiked feet kept him place.
Jonny sweat dropped.
YANK!
The black and orange robot pulled harder. Jonny was sent stumbling forward into a metal knuckled punch. He fell hard on the roof of the train, his head bouncing off the metal. When Jonny blinked away the stars, the robot was already on top of him. He laced his metal fists over his head, preparing to deliver a finishing blow.
Jonny winced.
WHAM!
A low hanging sign blurred by, decapitating the robot. Jonny craned his neck to look behind to see Kelly fighting her own group of her robots, her back facing the incoming sign. He gasped.
"Kelly! He yelled. "Down!"
Their training and trust saved her. She didn't turn to look at him or what he might be talking about. Kelly dove to her belly instantly without thought. The sign passed harmlessly over her and slammed into the group of robots she had been fighting. With their robot attackers taken care of, Kelly walked over to Jonny and easily pulled him up.
"I don't know what kind of test that was supposed to be." Jonny said as he rubbed the tender knot on the back of his head. "But I'd say we passed."
"I don't think it's over yet. The train isn't taking us back." Kelly pointed out. "Slade is using it to take us somewhere.
Jonny turned to look at the tracks they were leaving behind. He forgot about his sore head and rubbed his bare arms for warmth.
"But where?" He pondered.
As the cowboy mulled that over, Kelly looked ahead to find a tunnel bearing down on them. It crowded heavily around the upcoming track and was made of closely bound stone blocks, built to supply extra support to whatever was above. The top of the opening was a low arch with only a few feet of clearance between it and the train roof. Jonny was turning back to her when she sprang into action.
"Get down!" She called out as she pounced him. They fell together as the train whooshed into the low tunnel.
It had been dark before, but it was impossible to see a thing inside the tunnel. Kelly lay on top of Jonny in the pitch blackness, their cheeks pressed together as the cold air slid over them. It was the warmest Jonny had been since being so rudely pulled out of bed. Then the tunnel ended and the world returned. He found himself staring up into Kelly's big, pretty eyes.
Neither of them moved for a moment in time that was a brief eternity. Jonny finally swallowed softly.
"..Kelly?"
"Y-yes?"
"I think we've stopped."
Kelly looked up to find that he was right. The train had stopped at a brightly lit station, though the steps that would lead up to street level were paved over. She climbed off of Jonny and pulled him to his feet again.
"There's nothing here." Jonny said as he looked around. Despite the fact it looked less damaged than the other train stops he had seen, there was nothing of note. It was big and empty with supporting columns, an abandoned ticket booth and faded poster advertisements falling and peeling off the tiled walls.
"I doubt it." Kelly hopped down from the train roof to the edge of the platform. "Slade wouldn't bring us here for no reason."
Jonny floated down on a current of wind to land beside her. The section of floor he landed on sank just a fraction and gave an audible click. He looked down at it in confusion and then the laser turret that emerged from the far wall.
"Head's up!" He bit off.
ZAP! ZAP! ZAP! ZAP!
Jonny and Kelly took cover behind adjacent stone columns.
"My bow would be really useful right now!" Kelly complained.
"I got it." Jonny said. He hummed and held a fireball in his palm. He peeked carefully around the column and threw it at the laser turret.
PHOMB!
The turret exploded into a half melting, twisted mess.
"The whole room must be booby trapped. Be careful where you step." Kelly warned.
"That's not gonna be a problem." Jonny hummed a short tune under his breath and felt his feet rise off the ground. When he was a foot or so above the floor, he stopped his ascent and floated over to where Kelly still stood by her column. She reached out and took hold of his outstretched hand.
"This'll likely blow your shirt up." Jonny told her. "You might want to get your Marilyn Monroe pose ready." Then he sang. "Wild as the wind is love!"
Kelly gasped and caught her breath when invisible winds lifted her into the air. She gripped Jonny's hand tighter and flailed back as if she expected to fall, but the wind supported her. Jonny winced in her super powered vise grip, but Kelly loosened her hold on him when she realized she wasn't going anywhere. She looked down and flashed a credulous grin.
"I'm flying!" She marveled.
"Not exactly." Jonny said. "We're being held up by wind, that's all."
"Isn't that how birds fly?"
Jonny blinked. He rubbed the back of his neck.
"I reckon so." He murmured. "Good point."
The cowboy looked around the room and peered suspiciously at the ticket booth across the way. He and Kelly floated towards it.
"Wh-whoa!" Kelly teetered uncertainly.
Jonny stopped them in midair.
"Relax." He assured her. "Holding you with wind is no different than holding you with my arms. I got you."
Kelly looked at him.
"You can feel the wind?" She asked.
"Yes'm." He nodded.
Kelly smirked and raised a raven eyebrow at him.
"So you're groping me right now?"
Jonny blushed and yet again rubbed the back of his neck.
"Ahem!" He coughed awkwardly. "N-not exactly."
Kelly laughed and fondly patted his cheek.
The current of wind led them forward again.
WHAM!
A metal compress slammed down where they had been just a moment before, leaving a square crater in the concrete floor. Jonny and Kelly turned to stare at the sight.
"I don't get it." Jonny said. "How did we trigger that one? We didn't touch anything."
Kelly scanned the room with her eyes, squinting heavily.
"What are you doing?" Jonny asked her.
"The Nanomachines reacted differently to me. They bonded with my muscles and made them stronger."
"Right," Jonny nodded.
"My eyes are a muscle, too." Kelly reminded him. "I can zoom my sight in and out like a telescope or binoculars. And if I try hard enough, I can see things that are invisible to most people…like infrared laser sensors."
"Neat trick." Jonny whistled.
"They're all over the place." Kelly stated as she looked around. "There! I bet that switch turns them off."
Jonny followed her outstretched finger with his eyes and saw a red handled switch across the station near the abandoned ticket booth.
"Fair enough." He said. "But how am I supposed to fly us over there without tripping any of the lasers?"
"You can use your powers." Kelly suggested.
"What do you mean?" Jonny asked her.
"You can make water and fire, right?""Right."
"And what happens when you mix fire and water?" She prodded.
Jonny blinked, but then he smiled as the answer dawned on him.
"Clever." He complimented her. "What would I do without you?"
Kelly didn't answer.
Jonny's brow creased in concentration and he whistled a quick tune. Fire flared up, seeming to rise up from beneath the floor. Water came next. It materialized in midair and - since Jonny couldn't manipulate it - it splashed straight down. The water poured across the floor, extinguishing the flames with a hiss and sending clouds of white steam billowing into the air.
Through the steam the infrared laser sensors were visible to the naked eye. The sensors weren't placed particularly close together. Now that Jonny could see them, it was no big chore to maneuver himself and Kelly through them on a current of air.
"This is amazing." Kelly wiggled her feet above the ground. "You'll have to take me flying for real the first chance we get."
Jonny glanced at her.
"You mean like up in the sky?"
"Where else? Just imagine it: The wind in your hair. Total and complete freedom from everything!" Her eyes shimmered as she envisioned it.
They finished the laser gauntlet and floated by the switch.
"I don't know…" Jonny stalled. "I'm not a fan of heights."
Kelly blinked at him and shook her head.
"Wait…" She tried to wrap her mind around that. "You can fly…and you're afraid of heights!?"
"Hey," Jonny crossed his arms defensively. "I've been afraid of heights all my life. I've only been able to fly for the last few days."
"Awwww!" Kelly cooed to the flustered cowboy. "There's nothing to be afraid of. I'll be with you, right?"
Jonny looked into those big doe eyes of hers and took in a deep breath.
"Right. We'll go flying." He promised.
Kelly smiled at him.
Jonny smiled back.
"………"
"………"
Jonny coughed.
"Ahem. There's the switch."
"Y-yeah." Kelly reached out and grasped the handle. "Here goes!"
She flipped the switch. The tiled wall on the other side of the station slid open. The infrared laser sensors flickered off and there was a clickclickclick as the pressure plate trap triggers in the floor locked in place. The opening wall sucked away the lingering steam. Out of it stepped a multitude of orange and black robots. Even more intimidating were the pair of twelve feet tall, black and white mechs looming ominously behind them Their metal bodies were wider than five of the robots standing shoulder to shoulder with a large, red optic in the center.
"Not even a week ago I was baling hay back on the ranch. Now I'm in my underwear about to fight off robots next to the prettiest badass ever. Life's funny, ain't it?"
Jonny and Kelly took cover behind two stone pillars as the robots aimed their laser blasters and filled the air with the now familiar, sizzling sapping. The mechs aimed as well, their fingers becoming gun barrels. The sound from their firearms was quite different.
RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT!
"What the hell is Slade thinking?" Jonny growled. "The two big ones are using deadly rounds!"
"Slade's testing us." Kelly said.
"And if we fail, we die! I don't know about you, but I didn't sign up for this!"
"You knew the risks, didn't you?"
"Yeah, but I expected it from people up top trying to stop us." Jonny bit off. "Not from the only people I'm supposed to trust!"
The cowboy swallowed and wiped the cold sweat of fear from his face. He tried to peek around the column, but a bullet ricocheted too close for comfort and forced him back.
"All right." He decided. "I'll draw their fire and get their attention! When you see an opening, do what you do best!"
"Wait!" Kelly held up a hand. "You're complaining about how dangerous this is and now you want to put your neck on the line?!"
Jonny looked back at her, exhaled and gave a somber wink.
"It's better than the alternative." He drawled.
Watch my back, Amber.
Jonny dove out from behind his pillar and flew on a current of air.
"Jonny!" Kelly called out.
He ignored her. The robots aimed at him and fired.
ZAP! ZAP! ZAP!
RAT-A-TAT-TAT!
Jonny swooped straight up into the dark gloom of the high ceiling and disappeared. The robots stopped shooting and looked up searchingly for him. At first they saw nothing and then just a pinprick of light that grew bigger and bigger and bigger. The giant fireball was almost right on top of them before the robots realized they might be in danger.
PHOMB!
The fireball exploded in their midst. The robots were scattered by the concussion of the black and the two mechs recoiled.
That was the distraction Kelly had been waiting for. She ran around her pillar and stomped across the station platform. She leaped forward with an outstretched fist and literally dove through the chest of a black and orange robot. She grabbed two more by the scruff of the neck and smashed their heads together. The crushed skulls sparked and Kelly tossed the two metal corpses into the nearest mech.
The attack did nothing but draw the mech's attention. It lifted its heavy mitt and slammed it down at her. Kelly dodged and jumped back. The attack cratered the ground and the block of concrete beneath Kelly's feet splintered up and sent her catapulting through the air. She smashed into the wall, tiles and dust falling around her.
"Kelly!"
The mech behind Jonny raised its arms and aimed its barrel fingers at his unprotected back. As he tried to go to Kelly's aid, one of the robots tackled him from behind. Its shot now obstructed, the mech lowered its arms.
"Let go of me!" Jonny growled. He wrestled with the robot who refused to release his grip around the cowboy's waist. Jonny rained down blows with his fists and elbows, but the robot obstinately hung on. The nearby mech, seeing Jonny pinned down, lumbered over to help. The mech lifted its giant foot to stomp Jonny into oblivion.
Jonny jabbed his thumb into the robot's optic eye. Its face sparked and singed Jonny's hand, but the attack loosened the robot's grip. Jonny scurried away as the mech's foot descended.
CRUNCH!
The robot was flattened beneath the massive weight.
Meanwhile, Kelly had recovered from her hard hit. The second white mech had cornered her against the wall and launched a crippling punch. Kelly caught the heavy metal hand and shoved back. The mech stumbled back, but the force wasn't strong enough to topple it. It regained its balance and advanced on Kelly again.
SWOOSH!
Jonny flew up on wind and landed on the mech's sloped shoulders. He hummed, produced a fire sword and stabbed down again and again with it. The sword had little effect besides leaving blackened streaks in the white steel. The mech reached up awkwardly to dislodge him but Jonny ducked, lost his balance, flapped his arms to keep from falling and finally slashed back with the sword. The sword whooshed across the mech's hand and melted its gun barrel fingers.
As this was going on, Kelly had slipped away and wrapped her arms around the base of one of the stone pillars. She grunted, pulled with all her strength and dislodged the pillar. She turned and cocked it over one shoulder like a baseball bat.
"Jonny! Get clear!"
Jonny looked over his shoulder, saw her with the column poised to strike and jumped from the mech. He landed and rolled along the subway platform. The mech pivoted after him and aimed its melted barrel fingers.
BOOM!
The barrels backfired and exploded in a plume of smoke. The disoriented mech was an easy target for Kelly. She grit her teeth and swung the pillar.
WHAM!
The mech slid and sparked along the platform. Kelly rushed after it, jumped and threw down the stone column like a lance. It impaled the mech, piercing through its big red eye.
The other mech had turned its attention to Jonny. It lumbered after him as he stepped back before it. He pointed a finger and sang:
"The lightning's flashing across the mountainside!"
A thick, blue bolt of electricity leapt from his finger to the mech. The mech's circuits flashed and it paused for but a moment before continuing it's slow charge.
Jonny frowned.
"Whoever heard of an insulated robot?" He complained.
The mech lifted both arms and pointed its gun barrel fingers at Jonny. Jonny's eyes widened, but he was ready. He hummed, held a fireball in each palm and flung them together. His aim was true and all of the mech's fingers sagged and melted. Jonny hummed again and sent a rusty bench flying at the mech on a current of wind. The bench was smashed to pieces against the mech's blocking forearms. The mech's red eye flashed and it stomped down hard. A crack sliced through the concrete floor and the shockwave knocked Jonny away.
Jonny groaned, shook his head and pushed himself to his hands and knees when the mech's shadow loomed over him.
"Raugh!"
WHAM!
Kelly plowed the stone pillar into the mech's side. The pillar, finally pushed past its limit, cracked and crumbled into debris. But it had done its job. The mech fell over with a crash. Kelly jumped on top of it, laced her hands together over her head into one big fist and jabbed it into the mech's red eye.
Jonny stood up and looked at the two smoking mechs and the scattered parts of the black and orange robots.
"I think we ought to have a little talk with Slade." He said grimly. "Training is one thing, but legitimately trying to kill us is a horse of an entirely different color."
Kelly was about to answer when she saw the power core of one of the downed mech's flicker. With the last of its reserves it shot out a spinning buzz saw that flew through the air at Jonny's unsuspecting back. Kelly lunged forward and shoved him out of the way.
SLICE!
Hot blood spurted and splashed across Jonny's chest. He gasped and his wide eyes dilated as the buzz saw whizzed past and he saw the deep, gaping cut in Kelly's upper arm.
"Kelly!"
Jonny rushed over to her. She had fallen to one knee. She trembled, clutched her shoulder and blinked tears out of her eyes. Jonny ripped the hem out of Kelly's shirt and tied it tight above the gash to slow the flow of blood.
The subway train doors slid open to reveal Slade's form.
"Bring her here." He ordered.
Jonny helped Kelly to the train and led her inside.
"There." Slade pointed at a simple cot. "Lay her down there and fill this bowl with water."
Jonny did as he was told. He gently put Kelly on the bed and then picked up the large bowl Slade had indicated. He hummed solemnly and water fell into it. He watched with concern as Slade dipped a cloth into it over and over again and cleaned the wound. The clear water turned a cloudy red.
"Tying it off like this was a wise move." Slade commented as he worked.
"The benefits of having a sister in medical school." Jonny said it absently without thought. He concentrated on Kelly's pained face.
Slade reached into his belt and handed his collapsible metal staff to Jonny without looking.
"Heat the end of it." Slade said.
"What for?" Jonny asked apprehensively.
"We need to cauterize the wound. This is the best way."
"Are you serious?" Jonny demanded. "Do you have any idea how much that will hurt? We might as well be branding her!"
"This is not open to discussion." Slade said it dangerously.
"You're right! It's not! I ain't-"
"Jonny…" Kelly said through her grimace. "Do it. Please."
Jonny looked away and let out a hard sigh. He hummed a deep, slow melody and held fire in his hand. He held the tip of the metal staff inside it until the tip glowed red. Then he carefully handed it back to Slade.
"This will hurt." Slade informed Kelly evenly. "Get ready."
Jonny reached out and let Kelly grab his hand. Slade glanced at their intertwined fingers with his single eye and then applied the red hot staff tip to the gash in Kelly's shoulder.
Kelly screamed and squeezed Jonny's hand. Jonny grimaced himself as the cartilage in his hand cracked and strained in her super powered grip. But his pain in no way compared to hers. In fact, he was impressed with her restraint. Jonny knew that, had she wanted to, she could break every bone in his hand or even rip it off. The air filled with the pungent, sickening smell of burnt flesh. Jonny felt helpless and could do nothing but hold her hand.
"The bleeding has stopped." Slade said. He dropped the hot staff into the bowl of water with a hiss and cloud of steam.
"Doesn't it need stitches?" Jonny asked.
"Normal people would, but Kelly doesn't. Her Nanomachines bonded with her muscles. Not only do they augment with them to make her stronger, but they will also help repair them. She'll be find in a day or so."
Slade wrapped her upper arm in gauze and the first aid was over. Jonny moved closer and sat by the bed.
"How are you holding up?" He asked Kelly sympathetically.
"I'll be fine." Kelly said in a tight voice. "I'm not stranger to pain."
"Jonny," Slade called him from the door.
The cowboy didn't even look.
"I'm busy." He said flatly.
"She'll be in pain regardless of whether or not you hold her hand. Come." The train door slid open and Slade walked outside.
"You should go." Kelly said.
Jonny didn't like it, but he did as she asked. He walked outside to meet Slade on the subway platform.
"You have a problem with me?" Slade said, but it was in no way a question.
Jonny folded his arms across his chest.
"You saw the fight, didn't you? You know what my problem is."
"A necessary evil." Slade purred. "Your training must be dangerous because your missions will be as well. Sending you into the lion's den unprepared would be an even greater injustice, don't you think?"
"Yeah? And what happens if we get killed during our training?" Jonny demanded. "How just would that be?"
Slade clasped his hands behind his back.
"I have confidence that I have trained you well enough to survive anything I throw at you."
"We can do without your kind of faith." Jonny said it bitterly. "Kelly's in there hurting right now because-"
"Your anger is misplaced." Slade interrupted him strongly. "Kelly is injured because of you. You dropped your guard and let your attention waver. She's in pain because she had to save you. This is your fault. Not mine."
Slade turned and stepped back onto the train.
Jonny, alone, took in a deep breath and let it out in a long shudder.
God, I need a cigarette.