There Must Be Some Kind of Way Out of Here
Chapter 13
Author's Note: You know, the usual. Stuff in italics are thoughts and I love you all.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from X-Men: Evolution - Marvel and Kid's WB do. However, I do own my original character, John Jashback, who's arm falls off.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Jashback sat slumped on his knees, nearly naked, face in his hands, crying pathetically. An unconscious girl lay sprawled on the floor behind him, and Professor Xavier, Scott, and Jean were watching him quizzically. His mind was a tumbled mess, as it often was since he had arrived at the Institute. And then abruptly, he stopped crying and he began laughing. Insane, maniacal laughter.
Oh yes. This is like icing on the cake. On a great big cake built by my idiocy.
Scott walked over and put his hand on John's shoulder. "Are you uh, ok?"
As quickly as the transition from sobbing to laughter hit, John stopped laughing. He looked up at Scott and gave him a false smile. He stood up and wiped his eyes of any tears that remained.
"Am I ok? I'm just fine," he lied. He pointed over to the fallen girl and said, "But you might want to go check on her. She kind of freaked when she caught me scratching my back with my arm, which started this whole mess," pointing at the scorch marks on the floor and an arm laying on the floor. He then pointed to his charred shirt and pants which he hoped would explain why he was clad only in his boxers. "I'll just uh, head back to my room now..." John collected the charred remains of his clothing, his shoes, and his extra arm and headed on down the hallway from where the others had come. He could feel everyone's eyes on his back, but he didn't allow himself to turn around.
I've been through enough shit in the last twenty-fours, that I just don't care.
"Professor, I don't think we should..."
The Professor cut him off. "Let him be, Scott. He's needs to think things over himself. He will come to us if he requires our assisstance."
John never would have acted in such a way in front of others. Then again, he wouldn't be clad in only boxer shorts in front of others, at least not other men. But frankly, he didn't care. He had been through enough already that he just didn't care anymore. Of course, by just walking away from the others, John found himself in much of the same situation as he was only moments before - lost. And this time, he was lost and nearly naked.
"Whoa! What happened to you?" a voice said, very startled. John looked up to see someone talking to him, but the faces seemed blurred, and so he walked on without another word. That happened quite a bit on his trek back to his room, wherever it was. Some inquired on why he was half naked, and others just stared. He made it into the mansion foyer and noticed Evan and Rogue talking, which meant he was close to his room. They both asked what had happened, but he ignored them. John calmly walked up the stairs and down a hallway before finding his room - the sleeve was still tied around the knob - and he walked inside, not bothering to shut the door. He dropped everything he was holding into a heap and collapsed onto the bed.
Fate had to be against him. It was the only reasonable explanation. For some reason, it was in God's divine plan that he not be here. Either that, or a side-effect of John's power was horrifically bad luck. He liked that idea. That certainly would explain it.
No.
John shook his head hard.
Ok, dammit, some crazy stuff has happened to me, but I'm going to stop blaming it on something else. From now on, I'm just gonna go with the flow of things.
Someone knocked on his door. John ignored it. Why would they bother to knock if the door was open?
"John? Are you in there?" a voice called from outside. It sounded like Jamie.
Jamie poked his head into the room. "Hey. Where were you after school? I wanted to talk on the ride back. Did something happen to you?"
"Heh. You could say that," John muttered.
"What?"
John sat up and looked at Jamie. "Sorry. I got into a fight at school, came back here, fell asleep while I was working out, chased you when I woke up, and scared one of the girls, starting a fire."
Jamie frowned. "No fair! All the fun stuff happens when I'm not around."
"You know Jamie, I envy you sometimes. I really do."
"What's 'envy' mean?"
John laughed, remembering his days of innocence. "Don't worry about it, bud."
"Oh, ok," Jamie said. "Wanna go do something with me?"
"Yeah sure. Just let me put some clothes on." When he saw Jamie had no idea that meant get out of his room, he shushed him away and closed the door.
Finding a new shirt and pair of pants, he pulled them on and stared at his burnt pair.
I'm gonna have to get a job or something, and buy new clothes. At this rate, I'll be going to school in a towel...or naked
John got dressed and went outside. "Ok, so whatcha wanna do, Snowflake?"
Jamie narrowed his eyes and looked at the older mutant. "C'mon Lefty," he said, his voice full of mock scorn, "Let's go watch some TV."
Right about that time, John's stomach began to rumble. "Uh...by chance, is there a TV in the kitchen?"
**********
John and Jamie walked into the kitchen and found it empty, with the exception of Kurt, busy rooting around the refrigerator. Jamie turned on the TV and sat down, happily watching some cartoon John didn't recognize. Kurt looked up, and sat down next to John.
"Is vhat I heard true?" he asked.
John had a sinking feeling in his stomach. "Uh, what did you hear?"
"You and Avalanche got into a fight at school."
"It wasn't exactly a fight... He snuck up on me after lunch and uh, beat me up. I didn't see him coming so I didn't have a chance."
"So that's what happened..." a voice said from behind the two. John turned around and saw Evan standing in the doorway. A large spike popped out from his arm. He pulled it out and spun it in his hands. "I say we go get him back for it."
John shook his head. "No, no, no! If I want to get him back, I'll do it myself. But I'll probably just let it be. I don't want to do anything else I'll regret. I've had plenty of that already today."
"Yeah man," Evan replied. "What was with you walking through here in your boxers earlier?"
"Oh er uh...uh...I tried to uh...put out a uh...fire, and uh...there wasn't anything I could use except uh...my clothes." John stared at the floor, his face a bright crimson.
"What was that?" called Scott, appearing behind Evan.
John groaned.
"I guess that explains what happened earlier. You know, the fire and Amara," Scott said, taking a seat next to John.
"Whoa! You didn't say anything about a girl..." Evan said, nudging John in the ribs.
"Ja man. Vere you two doing a little something vhen the fire started?" Kurt said, winking and grinning like an idiot.
John threw up his arms in exasperation. "No! I was scratching my back," he said, ignoring their confused looks, "She got a little startled, I think, when she saw me, and she fainted and started a small fire. I pulled her out of the way and used uh...what was available at the time to put out the flames."
By the time John had finished explaining, everyone in the room was laughing, except Jamie, deeply enthralled by the cartoon he was watching.
Scott stopped laughing for a moment and slapped John on the back. "Oh man. It's a good thing we showed up when we did, or you'd be trying to smother the flames with your boxers..." He returned to his laughing, obviously pleased with what he said.
"Oh man, now that's bad. You just got punked by Scott," Evan crooned.
"Ja, Mr. Uptight got you good," Kurt said, grinning.
Scott looked up. "Hey, I'm not that bad...am I?"
The two younger X-Men broke into another fit of laughter, directed at Scott this time.
It was John's turn to slap Scott on the back. He knew his pain all too well.
On the bright side, at least they aren't laughing at me anymore.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 13
Author's Note: You know, the usual. Stuff in italics are thoughts and I love you all.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from X-Men: Evolution - Marvel and Kid's WB do. However, I do own my original character, John Jashback, who's arm falls off.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Jashback sat slumped on his knees, nearly naked, face in his hands, crying pathetically. An unconscious girl lay sprawled on the floor behind him, and Professor Xavier, Scott, and Jean were watching him quizzically. His mind was a tumbled mess, as it often was since he had arrived at the Institute. And then abruptly, he stopped crying and he began laughing. Insane, maniacal laughter.
Oh yes. This is like icing on the cake. On a great big cake built by my idiocy.
Scott walked over and put his hand on John's shoulder. "Are you uh, ok?"
As quickly as the transition from sobbing to laughter hit, John stopped laughing. He looked up at Scott and gave him a false smile. He stood up and wiped his eyes of any tears that remained.
"Am I ok? I'm just fine," he lied. He pointed over to the fallen girl and said, "But you might want to go check on her. She kind of freaked when she caught me scratching my back with my arm, which started this whole mess," pointing at the scorch marks on the floor and an arm laying on the floor. He then pointed to his charred shirt and pants which he hoped would explain why he was clad only in his boxers. "I'll just uh, head back to my room now..." John collected the charred remains of his clothing, his shoes, and his extra arm and headed on down the hallway from where the others had come. He could feel everyone's eyes on his back, but he didn't allow himself to turn around.
I've been through enough shit in the last twenty-fours, that I just don't care.
"Professor, I don't think we should..."
The Professor cut him off. "Let him be, Scott. He's needs to think things over himself. He will come to us if he requires our assisstance."
John never would have acted in such a way in front of others. Then again, he wouldn't be clad in only boxer shorts in front of others, at least not other men. But frankly, he didn't care. He had been through enough already that he just didn't care anymore. Of course, by just walking away from the others, John found himself in much of the same situation as he was only moments before - lost. And this time, he was lost and nearly naked.
"Whoa! What happened to you?" a voice said, very startled. John looked up to see someone talking to him, but the faces seemed blurred, and so he walked on without another word. That happened quite a bit on his trek back to his room, wherever it was. Some inquired on why he was half naked, and others just stared. He made it into the mansion foyer and noticed Evan and Rogue talking, which meant he was close to his room. They both asked what had happened, but he ignored them. John calmly walked up the stairs and down a hallway before finding his room - the sleeve was still tied around the knob - and he walked inside, not bothering to shut the door. He dropped everything he was holding into a heap and collapsed onto the bed.
Fate had to be against him. It was the only reasonable explanation. For some reason, it was in God's divine plan that he not be here. Either that, or a side-effect of John's power was horrifically bad luck. He liked that idea. That certainly would explain it.
No.
John shook his head hard.
Ok, dammit, some crazy stuff has happened to me, but I'm going to stop blaming it on something else. From now on, I'm just gonna go with the flow of things.
Someone knocked on his door. John ignored it. Why would they bother to knock if the door was open?
"John? Are you in there?" a voice called from outside. It sounded like Jamie.
Jamie poked his head into the room. "Hey. Where were you after school? I wanted to talk on the ride back. Did something happen to you?"
"Heh. You could say that," John muttered.
"What?"
John sat up and looked at Jamie. "Sorry. I got into a fight at school, came back here, fell asleep while I was working out, chased you when I woke up, and scared one of the girls, starting a fire."
Jamie frowned. "No fair! All the fun stuff happens when I'm not around."
"You know Jamie, I envy you sometimes. I really do."
"What's 'envy' mean?"
John laughed, remembering his days of innocence. "Don't worry about it, bud."
"Oh, ok," Jamie said. "Wanna go do something with me?"
"Yeah sure. Just let me put some clothes on." When he saw Jamie had no idea that meant get out of his room, he shushed him away and closed the door.
Finding a new shirt and pair of pants, he pulled them on and stared at his burnt pair.
I'm gonna have to get a job or something, and buy new clothes. At this rate, I'll be going to school in a towel...or naked
John got dressed and went outside. "Ok, so whatcha wanna do, Snowflake?"
Jamie narrowed his eyes and looked at the older mutant. "C'mon Lefty," he said, his voice full of mock scorn, "Let's go watch some TV."
Right about that time, John's stomach began to rumble. "Uh...by chance, is there a TV in the kitchen?"
**********
John and Jamie walked into the kitchen and found it empty, with the exception of Kurt, busy rooting around the refrigerator. Jamie turned on the TV and sat down, happily watching some cartoon John didn't recognize. Kurt looked up, and sat down next to John.
"Is vhat I heard true?" he asked.
John had a sinking feeling in his stomach. "Uh, what did you hear?"
"You and Avalanche got into a fight at school."
"It wasn't exactly a fight... He snuck up on me after lunch and uh, beat me up. I didn't see him coming so I didn't have a chance."
"So that's what happened..." a voice said from behind the two. John turned around and saw Evan standing in the doorway. A large spike popped out from his arm. He pulled it out and spun it in his hands. "I say we go get him back for it."
John shook his head. "No, no, no! If I want to get him back, I'll do it myself. But I'll probably just let it be. I don't want to do anything else I'll regret. I've had plenty of that already today."
"Yeah man," Evan replied. "What was with you walking through here in your boxers earlier?"
"Oh er uh...uh...I tried to uh...put out a uh...fire, and uh...there wasn't anything I could use except uh...my clothes." John stared at the floor, his face a bright crimson.
"What was that?" called Scott, appearing behind Evan.
John groaned.
"I guess that explains what happened earlier. You know, the fire and Amara," Scott said, taking a seat next to John.
"Whoa! You didn't say anything about a girl..." Evan said, nudging John in the ribs.
"Ja man. Vere you two doing a little something vhen the fire started?" Kurt said, winking and grinning like an idiot.
John threw up his arms in exasperation. "No! I was scratching my back," he said, ignoring their confused looks, "She got a little startled, I think, when she saw me, and she fainted and started a small fire. I pulled her out of the way and used uh...what was available at the time to put out the flames."
By the time John had finished explaining, everyone in the room was laughing, except Jamie, deeply enthralled by the cartoon he was watching.
Scott stopped laughing for a moment and slapped John on the back. "Oh man. It's a good thing we showed up when we did, or you'd be trying to smother the flames with your boxers..." He returned to his laughing, obviously pleased with what he said.
"Oh man, now that's bad. You just got punked by Scott," Evan crooned.
"Ja, Mr. Uptight got you good," Kurt said, grinning.
Scott looked up. "Hey, I'm not that bad...am I?"
The two younger X-Men broke into another fit of laughter, directed at Scott this time.
It was John's turn to slap Scott on the back. He knew his pain all too well.
On the bright side, at least they aren't laughing at me anymore.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------