There Must Be Some Kind of Way Out of Here
Chapter 9
Author's Note: Stuff in italics are thoughts. I love you all.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from this story, except John and his many extra arms.
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John Jashback stood in the middle of the lunch line, pushing along his tray covered in what the FDA allowed to be called food. What they called 'mystery meat' looked to be a piece of shoe leather covered in gravy. He grudgingly handed over too much money for something they wouldn't feed to pigs. He stepped out of the line and stared across the wide expanse of the cafeteria.
Great. Let's see if I can find somewhere to eat...this without making myself look like a jackass.
While he has busy mentally cursing himself, Kitty walked by and grabbed his arm.
"Hey John. You can like, eat over here with us."
'Us' turned out to include her, Evan, Scott, and someone John didn't recognize.
"Hey uh, thanks for letting me sit here guys."
"No problem, John. The first day is always kind of rough," Scott told him.
"Yeah man. It's no biggie," said Evan.
"Ya man. Ve X-Men stick together," the unnamed boy said.
Coughing, John asked, "Kurt? Is that you?"
They all looked at John with a puzzled look for a moment, and started laughing.
"Did I uh, miss a joke or something?"
"I vear a hologravhic image inducer to make me look normal so I can come to school," Kurt said pointing at the watch he wore on his wrist.
"Oh...Oh! Ok. I get it now. I suppose you couldn't actually come here all furry and blue..."
"Exactly, mein freund."
Looking down at his tray, John said, "So...do they actually expect us to eat this stuff they try to pass off as food?"
They all laughed and Kurt said in his accented English, "Ja. But ve eat it anyway." He punctuated that remark by shoving a forkful of something into his mouth.
"Hey man, " Evan said, nudging John in the arm, "You gonna drink that Moo Juice?"
John glanced to the mound of empty cartons in front of him and said, "You mean you haven't had enough yet?"
"That's like, a side effect of his power. He totally has to drink a lot of milk," Kitty explained.
"Oh...well uh, ok. Take it."
"Thanks man! I've got a feeling we're gonna be good friends," Evan said, grinning.
John cautiously dug into the food and slowly began to eat. Sure, it was notoriously awful, but cafeteria food is, no matter the school.
"Hey Pretty Kitty."
John looked up to see a tall-ish fellow with long brown hair, wearing a pair of old jeans, a black shirt, and a brown vest walking over to the table. He put his hands down and leaned over, grinning at the girl.
"Like, hi Lance," she said, blushing.
The boy, Lance, looked across the table at Scott. "How you doin', Shades?" he said dryly.
Scott sighed. "What do you want, Alvers?"
"What?" he said, holding his hands up, trying to look innocent. "I just wanted to say hi to my cutie Kat and the rest of you X-Geeks."
"Man, Lance. You're almost as annoying as Maximoff, " Evan said.
"Ya, man. Go back to those losers you call friends," the blue-furred German mutant said angrily.
Lance ignored them and looked over in John's direction. "What're you lookin' at?"
"Uh, I'm not quite sure. I would say 'jackass,' since these guys don't seem like you, but I won't since I pissed off Kitty yesterday and apologized yesterday and I don't want to open up that can of worms again," John told him. Only after that had come out of John's mouth had he realized he shouldn't have said it.
Lance stared at him for a second, dumbstruck, while Scott, Kurt, and Evan laughed. Kitty had a very neutral look on her face.
Aw hell. I just screwed up bad. Dammit, why didn't I just not say anything? Well, it's too late to go back now...
Lance walked over to John, and pulled him up by the scruff of his shirt and eyed him.
"Lance, leave him alone!" Kitty yelled.
"Back off Alvers..." Scott warned.
"You must be new, huh?" He shook his head, as if he pitied John. "I think I should give you a little lesson on why you shouldn't mess with me." He balled his free hand into a fist and pulled his arm back. John only smiled. Before Lance could throw his punch, Scott grabbed his arm and spun him around.
"I said back off," the older mutant said.
Kurt and Evan stood up and looked at Lance menacingly.
Lance sneered and shrugged Scott's hand off him. "Whatever." He began to walk away, but stopped and turned around, pointing at John. "This aint over between us."
John turned and looked at the others. "Uh...thanks guys. I guess I shouldn't have let my mouth run like that... I hope I didn't cause any of you any trouble." John looked over at Kitty, who was sitting and staring down at the table. He couldn't tell from her expression if she was on the brink of crying or screaming. "Oh man...uh...I'm really sorry about that, Kitty... Honest. I didn't mean for that to happened," John said apologetically.
She stood up and shouted, "Why don't you guys ever just leave him alone?!" She grabbed her backpack from the table and stormed off.
"But I...I said I was sorry.." John trailed off.
He watched her until she was out of sight before slumping back down into his seat. And then he dropped his head into his hands.
Jesus...There has got to be some kind of way out of this.
Scott gave him a pat on the back and said, "Don't worry about it. She'll get over it, and besides, she shouldn't be with Alvers anyway."
"Ja," said Kurt. "She can do much better."
"Man, but was Rocky mad... You better watch yourself, bro," Evan told John.
"Who was that guy...Lance, anyway?"
"He's the leader of the Brotherhood. They're misfit mutants who don't exactly like us," Scott explained.
"Oh. I see. How many of them are there?"
"There's Alvers, Quicksilver, Toad, Blob, and Boom Boom."
"Eh?" John asked. "What's with all the funny names?"
"Oh, those," Scott said, blushing slightly. "We've all got codenames we go by when training or on missions. My codename is Cyclops. Evan's is Spyke, Kurt's is Nightcrawler, and Kitty's is Shadowcat."
"Uh-HUH. So when I do get my codename?"
"Hrm. Probably at your first training session."
"So...this Brotherhood. Why do they not like us?"
"Long story," Kurt said.
"Ok...well, what do they look like?" John asked.
"Oh, you'll know when you see 'em," Evan said.
John groaned. "I really shouldn't have pissed him off... The same with Kitty. I screwed up bad with her yesterday and got back in her good grace's, but I don't know if she'll accept another apology. She's got to think I'm the biggest jerk in the world."
"Don't worry about it," Scott said. "She'll be fine, and don't beat yourself up for it. I don't think Alvers will try anything with you. He knows enough that if you mess with one of us, you mess with all of us."
John nodded solemnly and tried to return to eating the miserable excuse for food on his tray, but even if it had filet mignon, it would have tasted like ashes all the same.
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Chapter 9
Author's Note: Stuff in italics are thoughts. I love you all.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from this story, except John and his many extra arms.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Jashback stood in the middle of the lunch line, pushing along his tray covered in what the FDA allowed to be called food. What they called 'mystery meat' looked to be a piece of shoe leather covered in gravy. He grudgingly handed over too much money for something they wouldn't feed to pigs. He stepped out of the line and stared across the wide expanse of the cafeteria.
Great. Let's see if I can find somewhere to eat...this without making myself look like a jackass.
While he has busy mentally cursing himself, Kitty walked by and grabbed his arm.
"Hey John. You can like, eat over here with us."
'Us' turned out to include her, Evan, Scott, and someone John didn't recognize.
"Hey uh, thanks for letting me sit here guys."
"No problem, John. The first day is always kind of rough," Scott told him.
"Yeah man. It's no biggie," said Evan.
"Ya man. Ve X-Men stick together," the unnamed boy said.
Coughing, John asked, "Kurt? Is that you?"
They all looked at John with a puzzled look for a moment, and started laughing.
"Did I uh, miss a joke or something?"
"I vear a hologravhic image inducer to make me look normal so I can come to school," Kurt said pointing at the watch he wore on his wrist.
"Oh...Oh! Ok. I get it now. I suppose you couldn't actually come here all furry and blue..."
"Exactly, mein freund."
Looking down at his tray, John said, "So...do they actually expect us to eat this stuff they try to pass off as food?"
They all laughed and Kurt said in his accented English, "Ja. But ve eat it anyway." He punctuated that remark by shoving a forkful of something into his mouth.
"Hey man, " Evan said, nudging John in the arm, "You gonna drink that Moo Juice?"
John glanced to the mound of empty cartons in front of him and said, "You mean you haven't had enough yet?"
"That's like, a side effect of his power. He totally has to drink a lot of milk," Kitty explained.
"Oh...well uh, ok. Take it."
"Thanks man! I've got a feeling we're gonna be good friends," Evan said, grinning.
John cautiously dug into the food and slowly began to eat. Sure, it was notoriously awful, but cafeteria food is, no matter the school.
"Hey Pretty Kitty."
John looked up to see a tall-ish fellow with long brown hair, wearing a pair of old jeans, a black shirt, and a brown vest walking over to the table. He put his hands down and leaned over, grinning at the girl.
"Like, hi Lance," she said, blushing.
The boy, Lance, looked across the table at Scott. "How you doin', Shades?" he said dryly.
Scott sighed. "What do you want, Alvers?"
"What?" he said, holding his hands up, trying to look innocent. "I just wanted to say hi to my cutie Kat and the rest of you X-Geeks."
"Man, Lance. You're almost as annoying as Maximoff, " Evan said.
"Ya, man. Go back to those losers you call friends," the blue-furred German mutant said angrily.
Lance ignored them and looked over in John's direction. "What're you lookin' at?"
"Uh, I'm not quite sure. I would say 'jackass,' since these guys don't seem like you, but I won't since I pissed off Kitty yesterday and apologized yesterday and I don't want to open up that can of worms again," John told him. Only after that had come out of John's mouth had he realized he shouldn't have said it.
Lance stared at him for a second, dumbstruck, while Scott, Kurt, and Evan laughed. Kitty had a very neutral look on her face.
Aw hell. I just screwed up bad. Dammit, why didn't I just not say anything? Well, it's too late to go back now...
Lance walked over to John, and pulled him up by the scruff of his shirt and eyed him.
"Lance, leave him alone!" Kitty yelled.
"Back off Alvers..." Scott warned.
"You must be new, huh?" He shook his head, as if he pitied John. "I think I should give you a little lesson on why you shouldn't mess with me." He balled his free hand into a fist and pulled his arm back. John only smiled. Before Lance could throw his punch, Scott grabbed his arm and spun him around.
"I said back off," the older mutant said.
Kurt and Evan stood up and looked at Lance menacingly.
Lance sneered and shrugged Scott's hand off him. "Whatever." He began to walk away, but stopped and turned around, pointing at John. "This aint over between us."
John turned and looked at the others. "Uh...thanks guys. I guess I shouldn't have let my mouth run like that... I hope I didn't cause any of you any trouble." John looked over at Kitty, who was sitting and staring down at the table. He couldn't tell from her expression if she was on the brink of crying or screaming. "Oh man...uh...I'm really sorry about that, Kitty... Honest. I didn't mean for that to happened," John said apologetically.
She stood up and shouted, "Why don't you guys ever just leave him alone?!" She grabbed her backpack from the table and stormed off.
"But I...I said I was sorry.." John trailed off.
He watched her until she was out of sight before slumping back down into his seat. And then he dropped his head into his hands.
Jesus...There has got to be some kind of way out of this.
Scott gave him a pat on the back and said, "Don't worry about it. She'll get over it, and besides, she shouldn't be with Alvers anyway."
"Ja," said Kurt. "She can do much better."
"Man, but was Rocky mad... You better watch yourself, bro," Evan told John.
"Who was that guy...Lance, anyway?"
"He's the leader of the Brotherhood. They're misfit mutants who don't exactly like us," Scott explained.
"Oh. I see. How many of them are there?"
"There's Alvers, Quicksilver, Toad, Blob, and Boom Boom."
"Eh?" John asked. "What's with all the funny names?"
"Oh, those," Scott said, blushing slightly. "We've all got codenames we go by when training or on missions. My codename is Cyclops. Evan's is Spyke, Kurt's is Nightcrawler, and Kitty's is Shadowcat."
"Uh-HUH. So when I do get my codename?"
"Hrm. Probably at your first training session."
"So...this Brotherhood. Why do they not like us?"
"Long story," Kurt said.
"Ok...well, what do they look like?" John asked.
"Oh, you'll know when you see 'em," Evan said.
John groaned. "I really shouldn't have pissed him off... The same with Kitty. I screwed up bad with her yesterday and got back in her good grace's, but I don't know if she'll accept another apology. She's got to think I'm the biggest jerk in the world."
"Don't worry about it," Scott said. "She'll be fine, and don't beat yourself up for it. I don't think Alvers will try anything with you. He knows enough that if you mess with one of us, you mess with all of us."
John nodded solemnly and tried to return to eating the miserable excuse for food on his tray, but even if it had filet mignon, it would have tasted like ashes all the same.
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