There Must Be Some Kind of Way Out of Here
Chapter 22
Author's Note: Stuff surrounded in ~ are thoughts and I love you all.
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 that fall off.
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John Jashback stood staring out the window of his room, watching the sun rise. He slept quite soundly after writing the letter, and had no more strange dreams (that he could remember). Inside, he was full of joy. Was it from the beautiful view of the sunrise? Maybe. Was it that he had a full stomach for the first time in days? Maybe. Was it that he had a great night's sleep (for the most part)? Maybe. Was it because it was a Saturday? Hell yes.
As long as you're in school, Saturday's are such magical, wonderful things, especially if you're below the age of twelve. There is no better feeling than waking up in the morning and knowing that you don't have to go to school. Few things in the world can top such an emotion.
A rumbling stomach broke the serenity of the moment. John glanced over at his clock. It was only 6:30. If there were a training session this morning, someone would have woken him up. He stepped out into the hallway, but all was quiet. He took it as a good sign. Down in the kitchen, he grabbed a soda, a random piece of fruit, and some bread -- the lazy man's breakfast of champions. Back in his room, John sat at his desk, watching the rest of the sunrise and eating. It was a wondrous sight, the sun coming up over the horizon, with a fantastic view of the forest, and off in the distance, some of the larger buildings in Bayville.
By the time John had finished eating and the sun had stopped rising, it was a little after seven. He grabbed a clean change of clothes and went into the bathroom, turning the faucet to as hot as it could get. He let the tub fill up, took off his hospital robe and boxers, and climbed on in.
**********
John stretched out languorously in the bath tub. Steam filled the room, marking the intense heat of the water that submerged most of the young man's body. The soggy bandages from his head and chest were sitting in the floor.
"Oooooooooooh yeah. This feels greeeeeeeeat," he moaned dreamily.
Outside, someone pounded on the bathroom door.
"Occupied!" John called out. He'd been turning away people in droves from the restroom. He just prayed Kurt and Kitty knocked before trying to come in.
~This is just what I needed.~
Someone else knocked on the door.
"I'm in here!" John said loudly.
The knob turned and the door slowly opened.
"HEY! I'M IN HERE!"
Jamie Madrox poked his head inside.
John frantically covered his private areas, and shouted at the younger mutant. "JAMIE! GET OUT!!"
"I guess you're feeling better, huh?"
"I WAS, but then you came in here. GET OUT!!"
Jamie frowned. "C'mon. Let's go do something. We never got to yesterday."
~Calm down, calm down.~
"Jamie," John said, trying to calm himself, "If you don't get out right now, I'll rip off an arm and beat you over the head with it."
Jamie stepped completely into the room. "Alright! Come on! Let's play!"
"Dammit Jamie!! Get out, and I'll be out in two minutes!"
Jamie had a shocked look on his face. "Umumumumumum!! You said a bad word!"
John rolled his eyes. He had already been cussing when he was Jamie's age. But then again, if he were living at the Institute when he was Jamie's age, he probably would curse either.
"Jamie...I'm getting out now, so please leave, so I can dry off and get dressed, and then we'll go do something," John said, his patience wearing VERY thin.
Jamie's narrowed his eyes. "Promise?"
"I promise," John said.
~Will he just go already?!?~
"Cross your heart and hope to die?"
"Jamie...get out of here."
The young boy started walking over. "You gotta pinky swear."
"Ok, that's it!" John shouted. He ripped off an arm and threw it at Jamie, who ducked, the arm hitting the mirror and falling into the sink.
"Ok, ok," Jamie said sheepishly. He backed out of the room, mumbling something.
John sighed heavily and finally relaxed, letting himself sink to the bottom of the tub.
**********
Jamie was sitting cross-legged on the floor, and he jumped to his feet when John stepped out of the bathroom (with a new arm), bubbling with excitement.
John frantically waved him away. "Hold on a second! Can I at least put this stuff in my room?" He didn't bother to wait for a reply, as he walked down two doors and threw in his clothing.
Kurt appeared in his usual cloud of sulphur-scented smoke. "How are you doing?" he said in his German accent, clapping John on the shoulder.
"Doing good, thanks, considering I got lost again, and uh, fell asleep in the elevator."
Just as John had said that, Evan came walking by.
"Whoa man. What's this about the elevator?" he said.
John cursed himself inwardly, took a deep breath, and told his story. "I woke up in the infirmary alone, with only one arm and a concussion. I grew back the new arm, and tried to figure out where I was. I got in the elevator and tried all of the floors, but I got real tired and fell asleep. When I woke up, Mr. McCoy was there, he scared me, I fainted, I woke up, and the Professor was there too, Mr. McCoy ripped off both arms to show that my powers have evolved, I fainted AGAIN, woke up, grew back my arms, ate everything in the kitchen, and I went to bed," he finished. "What it all boils down to is," he said, thrusting his arms into the air, "They both fall off."
"Cool," Kurt, Evan, and Jamie echoed together.
"If you say so..." John said, shaking his head. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to get something to eat."
**********
John sat at the dining room table, happily shoveling food into his mouth. Beside him, Kurt Wagner was doing the same. Evan Daniels and Jamie Madrox sat across from them, giving the two feeding mutants strange looks.
"I wonder which one eats more," Evan said.
"Not sure. Maybe they should have an eating contest," Jamie said, laughing, before he started making pig noises.
John stopped eating for a moment and looked at the two mutants across from him. "I don't know about him," pointing at Kurt, "But this is a side effect of my power." John drove the point home by pulling off an arm and setting it next to his plate. He gritted his teeth and grunted, a new arm coming out. "Doing that expends a lot of my body's energy. I've got to eat a lot of replenish it." He grabbed a napkin and started cleaning off his new arm.
Evan nodded in understanding. He was in the same boat too -- firing spikes out of his body depleted his calcium levels, and so he drank a lot of milk. To drive that point home, he took a carton of milk from the refrigerator and started drinking straight from it.
Jamie shook his head. "I don't get it."
"Jamie..." John said, shaking his head, "I HAVE to eat this much food. Kurt doesn't. He's the pig."
"Hey! I resemble that remark!" said Kurt, baring his teeth.
"Ugh. Do you have to eat with that at the table?" John looked over to see Kitty standing in the doorway, hands on her hips and frowning.
Kurt hopped up out of his chair and grinned at her. "Vats the matter, Keety? You don't like me anymore?"
"Not you Kurt. That," she said, pointing at the detached arm sitting on the table.
"Er, sorry." John grabbed the arm and put it in his lap, and went back to eating.
Kitty sat down at the table, but John didn't look to see what she was doing.
"Hurry up John! I want to go do something!" Jamie whined.
"Fine," he said exasperated. John pushed his plate over to Kurt. "Here buddy. Get fat on me."
"Danke," the blue-furred mutant said, pulling the plate in front of him.
John and his arm stood up and left the room, Jamie hot on his heels.
"So what do you want to do?" the younger mutant asked.
"Well...first thing, we're gonna bury this thing," 'this thing' being his arm. "And then...well, let's just take things one step at a time.
**********
Jamie smoothed the dirt over the hole where John's arm now rested.
"It was a good arm, and will be sorely missed," Jamie pronounced.
John couldn't help but laugh. "Yes...I will miss my arm and all the things we did together."
Jamie nodded. Who then broke into a fit of laughter.
~Hey John? You there?~
John gave a start and looked around. "Jamie...did you uh, hear that?"
"Hear what?"
~John? You there?~
~Um....who's inside my head?~
Delightful laughter filled his head. ~You agreed that we could take you shopping today.~
John looked around for a moment. Then the memories flooded back. He had said yes when some of the girls offered to take him shopping after the whole fire incident.
~Uh. Is that you Jean?~
John felt stupid after saying/thinking that, because there weren't exactly a lot of female telepaths at the mansion.
"Of course. I don't sound like the Professor, do I?~
~Uh...I guess not.~
~Didn't think so.~ The image of Jean grinning filled his mind. ~Come back inside, so we can go.~
~Uh, ok.~
"Are you ok?" Jamie asked, looking up at John.
"Yeah. I just have to go back inside now. I said that some of the others could take me to get some new clothes today. So I guess we're uh, going to go do that now."
Shopping with girls...the idea made John shiver. Girls took such a long time, trying stuff on, looking at everything, doing this, that, and the other. Men knew what they wanted, and went in, got it, and then left.
~I couldn't have been in the right frame of mind to agree to go. I almost burnt the house down a few minutes before they asked. I was in shock. I wasn't thinking straight.~
He sighed and shook his head. Shopping with girls...John could barely stand going to the grocery store with his mother. John shook his head and began walking back to the mansion, wondering if he had signed his own death warrant when he agreed to this.
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John's lazy man breakfast of champions - I eat that every morning. It's good brain food.
Author's Note: Stuff surrounded in ~ are thoughts and I love you all.
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 that fall off.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------
John Jashback stood staring out the window of his room, watching the sun rise. He slept quite soundly after writing the letter, and had no more strange dreams (that he could remember). Inside, he was full of joy. Was it from the beautiful view of the sunrise? Maybe. Was it that he had a full stomach for the first time in days? Maybe. Was it that he had a great night's sleep (for the most part)? Maybe. Was it because it was a Saturday? Hell yes.
As long as you're in school, Saturday's are such magical, wonderful things, especially if you're below the age of twelve. There is no better feeling than waking up in the morning and knowing that you don't have to go to school. Few things in the world can top such an emotion.
A rumbling stomach broke the serenity of the moment. John glanced over at his clock. It was only 6:30. If there were a training session this morning, someone would have woken him up. He stepped out into the hallway, but all was quiet. He took it as a good sign. Down in the kitchen, he grabbed a soda, a random piece of fruit, and some bread -- the lazy man's breakfast of champions. Back in his room, John sat at his desk, watching the rest of the sunrise and eating. It was a wondrous sight, the sun coming up over the horizon, with a fantastic view of the forest, and off in the distance, some of the larger buildings in Bayville.
By the time John had finished eating and the sun had stopped rising, it was a little after seven. He grabbed a clean change of clothes and went into the bathroom, turning the faucet to as hot as it could get. He let the tub fill up, took off his hospital robe and boxers, and climbed on in.
**********
John stretched out languorously in the bath tub. Steam filled the room, marking the intense heat of the water that submerged most of the young man's body. The soggy bandages from his head and chest were sitting in the floor.
"Oooooooooooh yeah. This feels greeeeeeeeat," he moaned dreamily.
Outside, someone pounded on the bathroom door.
"Occupied!" John called out. He'd been turning away people in droves from the restroom. He just prayed Kurt and Kitty knocked before trying to come in.
~This is just what I needed.~
Someone else knocked on the door.
"I'm in here!" John said loudly.
The knob turned and the door slowly opened.
"HEY! I'M IN HERE!"
Jamie Madrox poked his head inside.
John frantically covered his private areas, and shouted at the younger mutant. "JAMIE! GET OUT!!"
"I guess you're feeling better, huh?"
"I WAS, but then you came in here. GET OUT!!"
Jamie frowned. "C'mon. Let's go do something. We never got to yesterday."
~Calm down, calm down.~
"Jamie," John said, trying to calm himself, "If you don't get out right now, I'll rip off an arm and beat you over the head with it."
Jamie stepped completely into the room. "Alright! Come on! Let's play!"
"Dammit Jamie!! Get out, and I'll be out in two minutes!"
Jamie had a shocked look on his face. "Umumumumumum!! You said a bad word!"
John rolled his eyes. He had already been cussing when he was Jamie's age. But then again, if he were living at the Institute when he was Jamie's age, he probably would curse either.
"Jamie...I'm getting out now, so please leave, so I can dry off and get dressed, and then we'll go do something," John said, his patience wearing VERY thin.
Jamie's narrowed his eyes. "Promise?"
"I promise," John said.
~Will he just go already?!?~
"Cross your heart and hope to die?"
"Jamie...get out of here."
The young boy started walking over. "You gotta pinky swear."
"Ok, that's it!" John shouted. He ripped off an arm and threw it at Jamie, who ducked, the arm hitting the mirror and falling into the sink.
"Ok, ok," Jamie said sheepishly. He backed out of the room, mumbling something.
John sighed heavily and finally relaxed, letting himself sink to the bottom of the tub.
**********
Jamie was sitting cross-legged on the floor, and he jumped to his feet when John stepped out of the bathroom (with a new arm), bubbling with excitement.
John frantically waved him away. "Hold on a second! Can I at least put this stuff in my room?" He didn't bother to wait for a reply, as he walked down two doors and threw in his clothing.
Kurt appeared in his usual cloud of sulphur-scented smoke. "How are you doing?" he said in his German accent, clapping John on the shoulder.
"Doing good, thanks, considering I got lost again, and uh, fell asleep in the elevator."
Just as John had said that, Evan came walking by.
"Whoa man. What's this about the elevator?" he said.
John cursed himself inwardly, took a deep breath, and told his story. "I woke up in the infirmary alone, with only one arm and a concussion. I grew back the new arm, and tried to figure out where I was. I got in the elevator and tried all of the floors, but I got real tired and fell asleep. When I woke up, Mr. McCoy was there, he scared me, I fainted, I woke up, and the Professor was there too, Mr. McCoy ripped off both arms to show that my powers have evolved, I fainted AGAIN, woke up, grew back my arms, ate everything in the kitchen, and I went to bed," he finished. "What it all boils down to is," he said, thrusting his arms into the air, "They both fall off."
"Cool," Kurt, Evan, and Jamie echoed together.
"If you say so..." John said, shaking his head. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to get something to eat."
**********
John sat at the dining room table, happily shoveling food into his mouth. Beside him, Kurt Wagner was doing the same. Evan Daniels and Jamie Madrox sat across from them, giving the two feeding mutants strange looks.
"I wonder which one eats more," Evan said.
"Not sure. Maybe they should have an eating contest," Jamie said, laughing, before he started making pig noises.
John stopped eating for a moment and looked at the two mutants across from him. "I don't know about him," pointing at Kurt, "But this is a side effect of my power." John drove the point home by pulling off an arm and setting it next to his plate. He gritted his teeth and grunted, a new arm coming out. "Doing that expends a lot of my body's energy. I've got to eat a lot of replenish it." He grabbed a napkin and started cleaning off his new arm.
Evan nodded in understanding. He was in the same boat too -- firing spikes out of his body depleted his calcium levels, and so he drank a lot of milk. To drive that point home, he took a carton of milk from the refrigerator and started drinking straight from it.
Jamie shook his head. "I don't get it."
"Jamie..." John said, shaking his head, "I HAVE to eat this much food. Kurt doesn't. He's the pig."
"Hey! I resemble that remark!" said Kurt, baring his teeth.
"Ugh. Do you have to eat with that at the table?" John looked over to see Kitty standing in the doorway, hands on her hips and frowning.
Kurt hopped up out of his chair and grinned at her. "Vats the matter, Keety? You don't like me anymore?"
"Not you Kurt. That," she said, pointing at the detached arm sitting on the table.
"Er, sorry." John grabbed the arm and put it in his lap, and went back to eating.
Kitty sat down at the table, but John didn't look to see what she was doing.
"Hurry up John! I want to go do something!" Jamie whined.
"Fine," he said exasperated. John pushed his plate over to Kurt. "Here buddy. Get fat on me."
"Danke," the blue-furred mutant said, pulling the plate in front of him.
John and his arm stood up and left the room, Jamie hot on his heels.
"So what do you want to do?" the younger mutant asked.
"Well...first thing, we're gonna bury this thing," 'this thing' being his arm. "And then...well, let's just take things one step at a time.
**********
Jamie smoothed the dirt over the hole where John's arm now rested.
"It was a good arm, and will be sorely missed," Jamie pronounced.
John couldn't help but laugh. "Yes...I will miss my arm and all the things we did together."
Jamie nodded. Who then broke into a fit of laughter.
~Hey John? You there?~
John gave a start and looked around. "Jamie...did you uh, hear that?"
"Hear what?"
~John? You there?~
~Um....who's inside my head?~
Delightful laughter filled his head. ~You agreed that we could take you shopping today.~
John looked around for a moment. Then the memories flooded back. He had said yes when some of the girls offered to take him shopping after the whole fire incident.
~Uh. Is that you Jean?~
John felt stupid after saying/thinking that, because there weren't exactly a lot of female telepaths at the mansion.
"Of course. I don't sound like the Professor, do I?~
~Uh...I guess not.~
~Didn't think so.~ The image of Jean grinning filled his mind. ~Come back inside, so we can go.~
~Uh, ok.~
"Are you ok?" Jamie asked, looking up at John.
"Yeah. I just have to go back inside now. I said that some of the others could take me to get some new clothes today. So I guess we're uh, going to go do that now."
Shopping with girls...the idea made John shiver. Girls took such a long time, trying stuff on, looking at everything, doing this, that, and the other. Men knew what they wanted, and went in, got it, and then left.
~I couldn't have been in the right frame of mind to agree to go. I almost burnt the house down a few minutes before they asked. I was in shock. I wasn't thinking straight.~
He sighed and shook his head. Shopping with girls...John could barely stand going to the grocery store with his mother. John shook his head and began walking back to the mansion, wondering if he had signed his own death warrant when he agreed to this.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------
John's lazy man breakfast of champions - I eat that every morning. It's good brain food.