There Must Be Some Kind of Way Out of Here
Chapter 19
Author's Note: Stuff surrounded in ~ are thoughts. I love you all. Oh, and thank you again, Post, especially for the advice on language and ratings and such. I'll be sure to remember it from now on.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from X-Men: Evolution - Marvel and Kid's WB do. I do own my original character, John Jashback, and any arms and other appendages he loses.
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"It isn't that big of a deal," John said, more trying to convince himself than those he was speaking with. "It really isn't. No one got hurt," except my back, "And besides, I think in some small way, I gained his respect."
John felt like he was facing the firing squad -- there was no other way to describe it. He was standing in the middle of the Professor's study, with Ororo, Logan, Mr. McCoy, and the Professor arrayed in front of him. John had just finished recounting every detail his meeting with the Brotherhood at lunch that day and his private encounter with the Toad after school.
"Well John," the Professor began, "You probably took the wisest choice of action in your situation."
"You got that right, Charles. If he had ratted them out, I don't think there'd be a school anymore," Logan said gruffly. The others nodded in agreement.
"Very well John. You are dismissed," the Professor told him.
John turned around and headed for the door. He stopped and spun around. "Wait...mind if I ask a few questions?"
**********
John walked away from the Professor's study, a not-so-satisfied smile on his face. The washing machine was in an extension of the kitchen, his uniform was to be washed in cold water, on the gentle cycle, then air dried, and he had a twenty dollar bill in his pocket. And since no suitable codename could be devised for John, they had unofficially christened him 'Lefty.' John groaned at the thought. Granted, they weren't world-impacting questions, but those necessary for day-to-day life.
~I just hope this means Lance won't mess with me anymore.~
As he turned a corner, there was no way John could have known that someone was running down that hallway, and there was no way he could have prevented the collision. The shock forced John back a few steps, and he recovered quickly. The same couldn't be said for the other person.
John extended his hand to Amara, who had suddenly found herself on the floor.
"Heh, sorry about that. I guess I should watch where I'm going," John said, smiling nervously.
Amara only stared as his hand and John realized why -- it was his left hand.
"It won't bite. Or fall off." ~At least I hope it won't.~ Rather than take the chance, John stuck out his right hand instead. "Feel better now?"
Her face reddened a moment before she accepted his assistance. Pulling Amara to her feet, John made another apology and went off down the hallway.
~Well, I think she's more frightened of me than anything.~
"Hey John," Amara's voice called from behind.
"Yes?"
She was staring at the floor, her dark hair covering much of her face, but John could tell she was blushing. "I..I'm sorry."
"Sorry? Sorry for what?" She kept staring at the floor. ~Say something, John! Quick!~ "Er..well, I'm the one who's sorry. You know, bumping into you and starting the fire. I'm kind of a klutz, I guess."
~John, you suck with girls. Yeah, I know, now shut up.~
"Well, ok, bye!" she said quickly, before running off around the corner.
~That was...different. John, you idiot. You could have handled that better. Yeah, I know, so shut up.~
John shook his head and hoped the Professor wasn't poking into his head, or else he'd be thinking he let a lunatic with a detachable left arm into his home. John headed down the hallway and was back in the student living quarters (he vaguely remembered the way) and walked to his door. He tossed in his backpack and went over to Jamie's room (which he remembered was two doors down from his). He knocked on the door.
"Jamie? You in there?"
What happened next would scar the very soul of John for the rest of his life.
"Oh! Hello there Lefty! How you doin'?" a comical voice said.
John found himself looking at a sock-covered hand, with two eyes colored in.
~Tell me I'm not seeing this.~
"What's the matter Lefty? Don't you remember me? I'm Mister Happy Happy Sock, your very beeeeeeeest friend!"
"And goodbye to you." John pivoted on his heel and walked away.
"Wait wait wait wait!" Jamie exclaimed, charging out of his room, that ridiculous sock on his hand. "I'm sorry, John! Come back!"
"No sock."
"No sock."
"Ok, let's go."
"Go do what?"
"I'm not sure yet. Let's find out."
~Newer students, report to the Danger Room immediately for a training session.~
"Awwwww man..." Jamie moaned.
"You heard that too?"
The younger mutant nodded.
"Well, let's go suit up then."
**********
John and Jamie entered the briefing room and found the Professor, Logan, and the newer students waiting.
"Er...are we late?" asked John.
"No. You two are right on time, in fact," said Professor Xavier. He pressed a button on a small console, and a holographic image of a field appeared on a giant screen along the wall behind him. It looked like the obstacle course they had run that morning, only much more formidable -- it was twice as long as the standard course, with more guns, more spikes, and other various gadgets meant to test their abilities.
"The objective is the same as before," the bald man said. "Using your powers and abilities to work as a team, reach the end of course. This is a true test of your ability to work together, as the risks involved are much greater, and teamwork is essential."
Looking at the screen and everything on it, John felt very weak and very vulnerable. In fact...
~This is going to suck. How am I supposed to be useful in this? Beat down a gun with my arm?~
John was not looking forward to this one bit.
**********
John ducked as a sentry gun fired in his direction.
~This really sucks.~
Another rose from the wall and fired at him also. John jumped aside to evade the blasts, while Iceman froze the two out of action. The team hadn't advanced far into the course when they became pinned down behind a steel wall, with weapons everywhere firing at them. Enough piles of smoldering rubble marked the destruction of various training machinery. All around him, the students with projectile attacks were making quick work of anything that attacked, and they all began to surge forward again. John narrowly avoided getting hit as he ran forward to catch up with the others.
**********
John Jashback dropped onto his belly as a giant saw blade flew by overhead. In front of him, Jamie did the same. Berserker fired a bolt of lightning from his fist and demolished the gun firing the giant blades. John jumped up and grabbed Jamie's shoulder.
"Let's get out of the open, or we're dead!" he shouted.
They ran past Magma, whose body was enveloped in fire, as she melted a hole in the giant metal wall in front of them. Everyone ran forward through the hole to face the next round of obstacles. A gun rose up and fired, the blast clipping John's exposed arm. He hissed in pain and held his arm where it was hit. Cannonball launched himself forward and into the gun, smashing it to pieces. Roberto ran forward, his body covered in a strange heat, and ripped off another gun at the base.
~This really sucks.~
**********
John was staring up at the stark metal ceiling of the Danger Room, a loud ringing in his ears. And then he felt the pain. He looked over at his right arm and the giant tear in the sleeve. A long gash was running up the side of it and blood steadily trickled out. He hadn't been quite fast enough in dodging a floor spike and now he had paid the price. Wolfsbane ran beside him and changed back into her human form, and pulled John up onto his feet.
"Are you ok?" she shouted over the sound of chaos all around them.
John's first instinct was to yell, "No, I feel like hell. I'm utterly useless and I just nearly lost my only whole arm," but he nodded and they started running forward again.
~Christ, my arm hurts. Why aren't they calling this off?~
A giant bar rolled out from the wall and caught both of them in the chest, knocked the wind out them and knocked them over. Iceman ran over to them froze over the panel where the bar emerged and built a small wall of ice to shield them, before going off to silence the guns that were still firing madly. John painfully pushed himself up, panting heavily, when the ice in front of them shattered. He flung his arms immediately in front of his face to protect himself, as the same giant bar passed overhead. John looked over and saw a gun hit Jamie square in the chest, who slammed into the wall hard, and copies of himself sprouted out upon impact. John picked up a large chunk of ice and held against his cut arm and pulled Wolfsbane to her feet. She transformed back into a wolf and dove after Jamie. John took the chunk of ice and threw it at a sentry gun. It wouldn't do anything, but it was more than his powers allowed. He pushed himself onto his feet and dove back into the fray...
**********
John Jashback hurled a long piece of metal at a towering gun. It ricocheted off the side and fell to the floor. John's arm had stopped bleeding, but a large tear graced the front of his suit and blood trickled down his face from a small tear on his scalp.
~I'm getting my ass kicked out here. Can't they see that? Why don't they end this damn hellhole?!?~
He swore loudly as he dodged the gun's return fire. A stream of fire enveloped the gun, reducing it to a liquid, then a beam of ice encased it. Cannonball rammed through another gun that was coming up behind it, debris thrown everywhere.
"C'mon! We're almost to the end!" shouted Bobby, who started running for the finish line.
John dashed after him but was stopped in his tracks when a giant tentacle rose out of the floor and wrapped around his right arm. It pulled him high into the air and began to wildly flail him about. John screamed wordlessly and shut his eyes hard to keep from sickening up, since he felt as if he was getting a double dose of vertigo and whiplash. The pressure on his arm disappeared, and he opened his eyes briefly to see the unforgiving metal floor coming ever closer. He was falling. In his mind, John screamed every obscene word he knew, interrupting briefly to pray that he wouldn't die. Eyes clenched shut again, he braced himself for the pain that was about to come...
John Jashback's body slammed into the floor hard, and sent his body rolling. Intense pain flooded through every nerve of his body, and the last thing he heard before blacking out was a buzzer sounding.
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Hey, someone help me think of a good codename thingy for John. Unless you want him to stay as Lefty.
Author's Note: Stuff surrounded in ~ are thoughts. I love you all. Oh, and thank you again, Post, especially for the advice on language and ratings and such. I'll be sure to remember it from now on.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from X-Men: Evolution - Marvel and Kid's WB do. I do own my original character, John Jashback, and any arms and other appendages he loses.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------
"It isn't that big of a deal," John said, more trying to convince himself than those he was speaking with. "It really isn't. No one got hurt," except my back, "And besides, I think in some small way, I gained his respect."
John felt like he was facing the firing squad -- there was no other way to describe it. He was standing in the middle of the Professor's study, with Ororo, Logan, Mr. McCoy, and the Professor arrayed in front of him. John had just finished recounting every detail his meeting with the Brotherhood at lunch that day and his private encounter with the Toad after school.
"Well John," the Professor began, "You probably took the wisest choice of action in your situation."
"You got that right, Charles. If he had ratted them out, I don't think there'd be a school anymore," Logan said gruffly. The others nodded in agreement.
"Very well John. You are dismissed," the Professor told him.
John turned around and headed for the door. He stopped and spun around. "Wait...mind if I ask a few questions?"
**********
John walked away from the Professor's study, a not-so-satisfied smile on his face. The washing machine was in an extension of the kitchen, his uniform was to be washed in cold water, on the gentle cycle, then air dried, and he had a twenty dollar bill in his pocket. And since no suitable codename could be devised for John, they had unofficially christened him 'Lefty.' John groaned at the thought. Granted, they weren't world-impacting questions, but those necessary for day-to-day life.
~I just hope this means Lance won't mess with me anymore.~
As he turned a corner, there was no way John could have known that someone was running down that hallway, and there was no way he could have prevented the collision. The shock forced John back a few steps, and he recovered quickly. The same couldn't be said for the other person.
John extended his hand to Amara, who had suddenly found herself on the floor.
"Heh, sorry about that. I guess I should watch where I'm going," John said, smiling nervously.
Amara only stared as his hand and John realized why -- it was his left hand.
"It won't bite. Or fall off." ~At least I hope it won't.~ Rather than take the chance, John stuck out his right hand instead. "Feel better now?"
Her face reddened a moment before she accepted his assistance. Pulling Amara to her feet, John made another apology and went off down the hallway.
~Well, I think she's more frightened of me than anything.~
"Hey John," Amara's voice called from behind.
"Yes?"
She was staring at the floor, her dark hair covering much of her face, but John could tell she was blushing. "I..I'm sorry."
"Sorry? Sorry for what?" She kept staring at the floor. ~Say something, John! Quick!~ "Er..well, I'm the one who's sorry. You know, bumping into you and starting the fire. I'm kind of a klutz, I guess."
~John, you suck with girls. Yeah, I know, now shut up.~
"Well, ok, bye!" she said quickly, before running off around the corner.
~That was...different. John, you idiot. You could have handled that better. Yeah, I know, so shut up.~
John shook his head and hoped the Professor wasn't poking into his head, or else he'd be thinking he let a lunatic with a detachable left arm into his home. John headed down the hallway and was back in the student living quarters (he vaguely remembered the way) and walked to his door. He tossed in his backpack and went over to Jamie's room (which he remembered was two doors down from his). He knocked on the door.
"Jamie? You in there?"
What happened next would scar the very soul of John for the rest of his life.
"Oh! Hello there Lefty! How you doin'?" a comical voice said.
John found himself looking at a sock-covered hand, with two eyes colored in.
~Tell me I'm not seeing this.~
"What's the matter Lefty? Don't you remember me? I'm Mister Happy Happy Sock, your very beeeeeeeest friend!"
"And goodbye to you." John pivoted on his heel and walked away.
"Wait wait wait wait!" Jamie exclaimed, charging out of his room, that ridiculous sock on his hand. "I'm sorry, John! Come back!"
"No sock."
"No sock."
"Ok, let's go."
"Go do what?"
"I'm not sure yet. Let's find out."
~Newer students, report to the Danger Room immediately for a training session.~
"Awwwww man..." Jamie moaned.
"You heard that too?"
The younger mutant nodded.
"Well, let's go suit up then."
**********
John and Jamie entered the briefing room and found the Professor, Logan, and the newer students waiting.
"Er...are we late?" asked John.
"No. You two are right on time, in fact," said Professor Xavier. He pressed a button on a small console, and a holographic image of a field appeared on a giant screen along the wall behind him. It looked like the obstacle course they had run that morning, only much more formidable -- it was twice as long as the standard course, with more guns, more spikes, and other various gadgets meant to test their abilities.
"The objective is the same as before," the bald man said. "Using your powers and abilities to work as a team, reach the end of course. This is a true test of your ability to work together, as the risks involved are much greater, and teamwork is essential."
Looking at the screen and everything on it, John felt very weak and very vulnerable. In fact...
~This is going to suck. How am I supposed to be useful in this? Beat down a gun with my arm?~
John was not looking forward to this one bit.
**********
John ducked as a sentry gun fired in his direction.
~This really sucks.~
Another rose from the wall and fired at him also. John jumped aside to evade the blasts, while Iceman froze the two out of action. The team hadn't advanced far into the course when they became pinned down behind a steel wall, with weapons everywhere firing at them. Enough piles of smoldering rubble marked the destruction of various training machinery. All around him, the students with projectile attacks were making quick work of anything that attacked, and they all began to surge forward again. John narrowly avoided getting hit as he ran forward to catch up with the others.
**********
John Jashback dropped onto his belly as a giant saw blade flew by overhead. In front of him, Jamie did the same. Berserker fired a bolt of lightning from his fist and demolished the gun firing the giant blades. John jumped up and grabbed Jamie's shoulder.
"Let's get out of the open, or we're dead!" he shouted.
They ran past Magma, whose body was enveloped in fire, as she melted a hole in the giant metal wall in front of them. Everyone ran forward through the hole to face the next round of obstacles. A gun rose up and fired, the blast clipping John's exposed arm. He hissed in pain and held his arm where it was hit. Cannonball launched himself forward and into the gun, smashing it to pieces. Roberto ran forward, his body covered in a strange heat, and ripped off another gun at the base.
~This really sucks.~
**********
John was staring up at the stark metal ceiling of the Danger Room, a loud ringing in his ears. And then he felt the pain. He looked over at his right arm and the giant tear in the sleeve. A long gash was running up the side of it and blood steadily trickled out. He hadn't been quite fast enough in dodging a floor spike and now he had paid the price. Wolfsbane ran beside him and changed back into her human form, and pulled John up onto his feet.
"Are you ok?" she shouted over the sound of chaos all around them.
John's first instinct was to yell, "No, I feel like hell. I'm utterly useless and I just nearly lost my only whole arm," but he nodded and they started running forward again.
~Christ, my arm hurts. Why aren't they calling this off?~
A giant bar rolled out from the wall and caught both of them in the chest, knocked the wind out them and knocked them over. Iceman ran over to them froze over the panel where the bar emerged and built a small wall of ice to shield them, before going off to silence the guns that were still firing madly. John painfully pushed himself up, panting heavily, when the ice in front of them shattered. He flung his arms immediately in front of his face to protect himself, as the same giant bar passed overhead. John looked over and saw a gun hit Jamie square in the chest, who slammed into the wall hard, and copies of himself sprouted out upon impact. John picked up a large chunk of ice and held against his cut arm and pulled Wolfsbane to her feet. She transformed back into a wolf and dove after Jamie. John took the chunk of ice and threw it at a sentry gun. It wouldn't do anything, but it was more than his powers allowed. He pushed himself onto his feet and dove back into the fray...
**********
John Jashback hurled a long piece of metal at a towering gun. It ricocheted off the side and fell to the floor. John's arm had stopped bleeding, but a large tear graced the front of his suit and blood trickled down his face from a small tear on his scalp.
~I'm getting my ass kicked out here. Can't they see that? Why don't they end this damn hellhole?!?~
He swore loudly as he dodged the gun's return fire. A stream of fire enveloped the gun, reducing it to a liquid, then a beam of ice encased it. Cannonball rammed through another gun that was coming up behind it, debris thrown everywhere.
"C'mon! We're almost to the end!" shouted Bobby, who started running for the finish line.
John dashed after him but was stopped in his tracks when a giant tentacle rose out of the floor and wrapped around his right arm. It pulled him high into the air and began to wildly flail him about. John screamed wordlessly and shut his eyes hard to keep from sickening up, since he felt as if he was getting a double dose of vertigo and whiplash. The pressure on his arm disappeared, and he opened his eyes briefly to see the unforgiving metal floor coming ever closer. He was falling. In his mind, John screamed every obscene word he knew, interrupting briefly to pray that he wouldn't die. Eyes clenched shut again, he braced himself for the pain that was about to come...
John Jashback's body slammed into the floor hard, and sent his body rolling. Intense pain flooded through every nerve of his body, and the last thing he heard before blacking out was a buzzer sounding.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------
Hey, someone help me think of a good codename thingy for John. Unless you want him to stay as Lefty.