There Must Be Some Kind of Way Out of Here
Chapter 10
Author's Note: Stuff in italics are thoughts. I love you all. Thanks for the feedback people. I loved how the feedback for Chapter 8 prayed for the Brotherhood to arrive. You people must be mind readers, or I'm just pretty predictable. Anyway, thanks. You all rock. I love you all.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from X-Men: Evolution - Marvel and Kid's WB do. However, I do own John and his many extraneous limbs.
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As John Jashback left the cafeteria, he looked down at his schedule and tried to figure out where exactly he was supposed to go next.
"History," the paper read. "Room C-16."
Well that helps a lot. Where the hell is room C-16? There doesn't happen to be a map around here, does there...?
He sighed on walked into the mob of students milling about, searching for his next class.
**********
Lance Alvers was leaning against a row of lockers when he spotted the new X-Geek that had been at the table with Kitty wandering down the hall, apparently looking for something. Lance smiled and knew that if he had any hopes for coming through with his promise for revenge, it had to be now before Summers or any of the other goodie-goodies showed up to save this kid's bacon. He began walking down the hall in the same direction as the new guy, who knew never what hit him...
**********
Room C-10, C-11, C-12....
Well, I think I found it...
A hand tightly gripped John's shoulder and spun him around. Before he knew what was happening, a sharp blow struck John in his face, blurring his vision. Pain lanced itself through his entire body. He brought his hands up to his face when another sharp blow struck him in the stomach. He doubled over and gagged, the wind having been knocked out of him. As his hands clutched his stomach, John felt two sharp, simultaneous blows; one on the back of his neck and the other across his chest. John lost his balance and collapsed in a heap on the floor, blacking out. He never knew what hit him...
**********
Am I dead? Please tell me I'm dead, because I hurt too damn much to want to stay alive.
John slowly and carefully opened his eyes, and found his vision horribly blurred. One of them seemed to want to stay shut, so he let it. He was in no condition to argue, because the rest of his body felt like one giant throbbing knot of pain and his ears were engaged in an endless ringing. A low moan escaped his lips.
"Please tell me I'm dead..." he muttered softly and slowly. Even talking seemed to hurt.
"No, I'm afraid you aren't dead," a voice replied.
"Who's talking? I can't open my eyes. It hurts too much. Even talking hurts," John said, laughing. The laughter soon turning to coughing, and job felt like a lung was going to come up. After the wheezing subsided, he said, "Remind me not to do that again."
"I'll be sure not to do that," the voice said, sounding very amused.
"You didn't answer me before I tried to spit up my internal organs. Who's talking?"
"Oh, I don't know," the voice said. "Maybe..."
Me.
John's heart skipped a beat there and he burst into another coughing fit.
"Are you alright?" the voice asked, a feminine voice. A familiar voice, too.
And then John realized who it was and his face turned red. There isn't exactly a whole village full of women with telepathy.
"Y..yeah. I'll be fine." John managed to form a sickly grin on his face, even if he couldn't see and even if he wasn't facing any particular direction. "W...what are you doing here, Jean?" he asked, stuttering.
"I serve as the nurse's assistant two day's out of the week during a couple of my class periods. The nurse is at lunch right now; she decided you weren't too badly beaten up and all you needed was rest, which meant it was okay to leave you here with me," she explained.
"O..oh. I see. That means I'm the nurse's office, huh?"
"That's right," she told him. "That was quite the roughing up Lance gave you. How are you feeling?"
"Lance..." The words seemed to drip with loathing from his mouth. "As for how I feel, I feel awful," he said bluntly.
"I'm sorry," she said in soothing tones.
"I don't feel awful because of what he did to me. I feel awful for what I did to Kitty."
"What are you talking about?"
"Lunch today. I was eating with Kitty, Scott, Evan, and Kurt. Lance showed up, and I wasn't exactly the friendliest person to him. And it upset Kitty a lot. That's why I feel bad. For her."
They sat in silence for a moment before Jean spoke up again. "Well, maybe it's for the better. She can do so much better than that guy. I'd rather she date Toad than Avalanche."
"Avalanche?" John asked. "Is that the 'codename' for Lance?" he asked wryly.
"Yes it is," she replied.
"And what's yours?"
"I don't have one."
"You don't have a special name?"
"No, I don't."
"Why?"
"Not sure. I've just never had one."
"Oh. So...what all uh...did Lance do to me?"
"It wasn't too bad," she told him. "He gave you a nice black eye, and that's it. We were just keeping you here until you woke up, and then you can go on back to the Institute."
John slowly opened one eye, and then tried the other, attempting to figure out which was the hurt one. Finding it, he sat up and stared at the redhead with another sickly grin on his face. "So how do I look?"
Her face contorted temporarily, not marring her beauty one bit in John's eye, before she started laughing. "You look great," she told him. She got up and handed him something. "You'll look even better with this on," giving him an ice pack.
"Heh, thanks. So er, whoa, that's cold!" he exclaimed. "So er, uh...do any of the...others...know about this?"
"Not that I know of. After Lance got done with you, a couple teachers grabbed him, and a third brought you here. I haven't felt any tremors, so I guess Lance didn't get all worked up from getting in trouble."
"Uh...tremors?"
"That's his ability - he controls the seismic waves in the ground."
John groaned. "I sure picked the right guy to get angry at me... He makes earthquakes and my arm falls off."
Jean sat down next to him and put an arm around his shoulder. "Don't worry about it. I don't think he'll try it again. I don't think the Brotherhood is *that* stupid. And I hope you aren't thinking of getting any revenge either."
"What? Uh, me? No, no. Don't worry. I won't, " he lied. Inside he was seething with anger.
I'm not letting him off that easy... I don't care what anyone says..
And then suddenly John stiffened.
You idiot! She's a telepath! She can read your mi...
John flicked his one eye in Jean's direction, and she wore an angry frown with one eyebrow arched. His face turned as red as her hair and he looked down at the floor.
"I mean it, John. Don't try anything..."
The bruised young man stared at the floor for a moment before replying. "I won't. I mean, there's no real point in fighting. He beat me up, and if I go back for revenge, it doesn't make things easier on either of us. If he beats me a second time, I'll be even more embarrassed. If I beat him, he'll be pining for revenge and come back after me. It's a big, stupid cycle. I'll just be the mature one and put a stop to it right now."
"Good," Jean said, patting his back. She got up, as much as John wished she wouldn't, and went over to the phone. "I'll just give the Professor a call, and we'll get you back home. Maybe you'll have a better first day tomorrow."
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You know, there are some liberties you can make in a world like this where some details just aren't given. That's one of the great things about being an author - being able to sometimes bend things to fit your will. Remember that. Carry on, citizens.
Chapter 10
Author's Note: Stuff in italics are thoughts. I love you all. Thanks for the feedback people. I loved how the feedback for Chapter 8 prayed for the Brotherhood to arrive. You people must be mind readers, or I'm just pretty predictable. Anyway, thanks. You all rock. I love you all.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from X-Men: Evolution - Marvel and Kid's WB do. However, I do own John and his many extraneous limbs.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As John Jashback left the cafeteria, he looked down at his schedule and tried to figure out where exactly he was supposed to go next.
"History," the paper read. "Room C-16."
Well that helps a lot. Where the hell is room C-16? There doesn't happen to be a map around here, does there...?
He sighed on walked into the mob of students milling about, searching for his next class.
**********
Lance Alvers was leaning against a row of lockers when he spotted the new X-Geek that had been at the table with Kitty wandering down the hall, apparently looking for something. Lance smiled and knew that if he had any hopes for coming through with his promise for revenge, it had to be now before Summers or any of the other goodie-goodies showed up to save this kid's bacon. He began walking down the hall in the same direction as the new guy, who knew never what hit him...
**********
Room C-10, C-11, C-12....
Well, I think I found it...
A hand tightly gripped John's shoulder and spun him around. Before he knew what was happening, a sharp blow struck John in his face, blurring his vision. Pain lanced itself through his entire body. He brought his hands up to his face when another sharp blow struck him in the stomach. He doubled over and gagged, the wind having been knocked out of him. As his hands clutched his stomach, John felt two sharp, simultaneous blows; one on the back of his neck and the other across his chest. John lost his balance and collapsed in a heap on the floor, blacking out. He never knew what hit him...
**********
Am I dead? Please tell me I'm dead, because I hurt too damn much to want to stay alive.
John slowly and carefully opened his eyes, and found his vision horribly blurred. One of them seemed to want to stay shut, so he let it. He was in no condition to argue, because the rest of his body felt like one giant throbbing knot of pain and his ears were engaged in an endless ringing. A low moan escaped his lips.
"Please tell me I'm dead..." he muttered softly and slowly. Even talking seemed to hurt.
"No, I'm afraid you aren't dead," a voice replied.
"Who's talking? I can't open my eyes. It hurts too much. Even talking hurts," John said, laughing. The laughter soon turning to coughing, and job felt like a lung was going to come up. After the wheezing subsided, he said, "Remind me not to do that again."
"I'll be sure not to do that," the voice said, sounding very amused.
"You didn't answer me before I tried to spit up my internal organs. Who's talking?"
"Oh, I don't know," the voice said. "Maybe..."
Me.
John's heart skipped a beat there and he burst into another coughing fit.
"Are you alright?" the voice asked, a feminine voice. A familiar voice, too.
And then John realized who it was and his face turned red. There isn't exactly a whole village full of women with telepathy.
"Y..yeah. I'll be fine." John managed to form a sickly grin on his face, even if he couldn't see and even if he wasn't facing any particular direction. "W...what are you doing here, Jean?" he asked, stuttering.
"I serve as the nurse's assistant two day's out of the week during a couple of my class periods. The nurse is at lunch right now; she decided you weren't too badly beaten up and all you needed was rest, which meant it was okay to leave you here with me," she explained.
"O..oh. I see. That means I'm the nurse's office, huh?"
"That's right," she told him. "That was quite the roughing up Lance gave you. How are you feeling?"
"Lance..." The words seemed to drip with loathing from his mouth. "As for how I feel, I feel awful," he said bluntly.
"I'm sorry," she said in soothing tones.
"I don't feel awful because of what he did to me. I feel awful for what I did to Kitty."
"What are you talking about?"
"Lunch today. I was eating with Kitty, Scott, Evan, and Kurt. Lance showed up, and I wasn't exactly the friendliest person to him. And it upset Kitty a lot. That's why I feel bad. For her."
They sat in silence for a moment before Jean spoke up again. "Well, maybe it's for the better. She can do so much better than that guy. I'd rather she date Toad than Avalanche."
"Avalanche?" John asked. "Is that the 'codename' for Lance?" he asked wryly.
"Yes it is," she replied.
"And what's yours?"
"I don't have one."
"You don't have a special name?"
"No, I don't."
"Why?"
"Not sure. I've just never had one."
"Oh. So...what all uh...did Lance do to me?"
"It wasn't too bad," she told him. "He gave you a nice black eye, and that's it. We were just keeping you here until you woke up, and then you can go on back to the Institute."
John slowly opened one eye, and then tried the other, attempting to figure out which was the hurt one. Finding it, he sat up and stared at the redhead with another sickly grin on his face. "So how do I look?"
Her face contorted temporarily, not marring her beauty one bit in John's eye, before she started laughing. "You look great," she told him. She got up and handed him something. "You'll look even better with this on," giving him an ice pack.
"Heh, thanks. So er, whoa, that's cold!" he exclaimed. "So er, uh...do any of the...others...know about this?"
"Not that I know of. After Lance got done with you, a couple teachers grabbed him, and a third brought you here. I haven't felt any tremors, so I guess Lance didn't get all worked up from getting in trouble."
"Uh...tremors?"
"That's his ability - he controls the seismic waves in the ground."
John groaned. "I sure picked the right guy to get angry at me... He makes earthquakes and my arm falls off."
Jean sat down next to him and put an arm around his shoulder. "Don't worry about it. I don't think he'll try it again. I don't think the Brotherhood is *that* stupid. And I hope you aren't thinking of getting any revenge either."
"What? Uh, me? No, no. Don't worry. I won't, " he lied. Inside he was seething with anger.
I'm not letting him off that easy... I don't care what anyone says..
And then suddenly John stiffened.
You idiot! She's a telepath! She can read your mi...
John flicked his one eye in Jean's direction, and she wore an angry frown with one eyebrow arched. His face turned as red as her hair and he looked down at the floor.
"I mean it, John. Don't try anything..."
The bruised young man stared at the floor for a moment before replying. "I won't. I mean, there's no real point in fighting. He beat me up, and if I go back for revenge, it doesn't make things easier on either of us. If he beats me a second time, I'll be even more embarrassed. If I beat him, he'll be pining for revenge and come back after me. It's a big, stupid cycle. I'll just be the mature one and put a stop to it right now."
"Good," Jean said, patting his back. She got up, as much as John wished she wouldn't, and went over to the phone. "I'll just give the Professor a call, and we'll get you back home. Maybe you'll have a better first day tomorrow."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You know, there are some liberties you can make in a world like this where some details just aren't given. That's one of the great things about being an author - being able to sometimes bend things to fit your will. Remember that. Carry on, citizens.