There Must Be Some Kind of Way Out of Here
Chapter 27
Author's Note: You know the routine: stuff in italics are thoughts and I love you all and thanks for the reviews.
Seriously Post, I think you know more of what the hell is going on in my story than I know myself. Did I mention how awesome you are? I need to bake you a cake or something.
Hey Race Baj, you were right about the date. I would have rather seen him pair up with Rogue, but it just didn't happen this time around. But that doesn't mean it won't ever happen...
Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men: Evolution or anything in it. Marvel and Kid's WB do. I just own John Jashback.
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John Jashback was floating on air after he finally went inside the Institute. It had been an interesting evening to say the least. But dread still welled up deep inside him.
I've got to do whatever Scott wants me to do, and now I've got to worry about that white haired guy...and probably the rest of the Brotherhood, after he tells them what happened.
Putting aside thoughts of violence, John floated up the stairs and to Scott's door. The authorization for entry was granted, and he stepped inside, shocked and appalled by the sight before him.
Piled in Scott's room was every male student who lived in the mansion, and all conversation ceased upon John's arrival. And then the flood of questions hit like a bullet between the eyes.
"So, what happened?"
"How did the date go?"
"Did you kiss her?"
"Did you wreck Scott's car?"
"Did you wreck my car?"
"Are you gonna go out again?"
John shook his head and raised up his arms in self-defense.
Jesus. You'd think they were little girls in middle school, they way they're acting.
"You know...it's none of your business," he said, nodding to himself. "Let's just say I got even with someone from the Brotherhood." Heh heh, let 'em chew on that for a while.
A chorus of whines and complaints and questions rang up all over again.
"Awww, why won't you tell us?"
"Come on! Vhy won't you tell us?"
"Yeah man, we just want to know what happened, that's all."
"I bet he kissed her, he just doesn't want to tell us."
"Who in the Brotherhood did you get even with?"
"I bet it was Lance. I'd want revenge if he beat me up."
John walked over and handed Scott his keys. "The car is fine. And we'll talk in the morning about what we were supposed to discuss tonight." Then he walked over to the bed and nudged a sleeping Jamie. "Psst. Hey? Jamie? You there? Wake up, buddy. C'mon, Private. Let's get you to bed."
Jamie opened his eyes and looked around groggily. "Oh hey John... You're back... How was your date?" he asked sleepily.
"I'll tell you later, but now we're going to get you to bed."
John hoisted up the younger mutant and helped him to his room, a parade of the others forming behind him, still asking questions. Once Jamie was in his room, he walked back to his own room, and closed and locked the door in the faces of the others, who were still inquiring about the date. John sighed and untucked his shirt and emptied his pockets, before laying down on his bed. The weird sound and smoke signaled Kurt teleporting into his room.
"So, are you going to tell me vhat happened on the date?"
John didn't bother to look up at him. "I'll tell you what. If you don't get out of my room now, I'll beat you over the head with my arm."
"Ah, ah. Temper," Kurt said, jumping up onto the ceiling. Hanging down and looking at John, he said, "Did my advice help you out? And vhat happened with ze Brotherhood?"
John sighed. "I tried to warn you." John took a hold of his left arm and pulled it off, before throwing it up at Kurt. It missed by a long shot, and fell somewhere at the foot of the bed. "Out! Now!"
The blue-furred mutant stuck his tongue out at him. "C'mon Gimpy. You can tell me! Did you kiss her?"
John did sit up this time, and clamped his right arm between his legs and pulled backwards, the arm cleanly off. He let the arm fall to the bed and clasped it with his feet, and tried to kick it upwards. Needless to say, it went up about an inch, before falling back onto the bed. "OUT!" John yelled.
Kurt laughed down at him. "Mein gott! You really are Gimpy!" He ignored John's scowl and continued, "But you vill tell me in ze morning?"
"Yes, yes, I'll tell you in the morning. NOW LET ME GO TO SLEEP!!"
Kurt nodded and said, "Danke," before disappearing from John's room.
Grumbling, John rolled off the bed and walked over to the door, flicking off the light switch with his teeth. He climbed back onto the bed, not bothering to grow back his arms or even take off his shoes. Besides, if he did regenerate the limbs, he'd be too hungry to sleep. And with that parting note, John Jashback, the armless mutant teenager drifted off to sleep.
**********
As life flooded back into John Jashback, his first impulse was to rub his eyes. But for some strange reason, he couldn't.
Oh right. No arms.
He rubbed his face on the bed for a moment, and blinked rapidly. He looked out the window to see sunlight pouring in, which meant it wasn't the middle of the night.
There. That's better.
John rolled over to the edge of his bed and rotated, throwing his legs off the side, and shakily standing up. Sure, he could have just made new arms and made the process go by much faster, but it was early, dammit, and he was still tired. And then came the ultimate challenge...
Sitting in a crouch, John examined the door knob, wondering just how he was going to open it. He looked down at his body, but nothing other than his hands were really capable of opening it, except...
Tilting his head, John opened his mouth as wide as it could go, and engulfed the handle inside his jaw. Biting down, he twisted his head painfully to the side, turn the knob with him, and pulled out.
Fortunately, it only took John three or four tries to finally get the door open. When it finally was opened, he felt the need to rub his sore jaw, but he just had to suck it up.
Shambling his way down the stairs, John walked into the empty dining room, save for Logan, who was sitting on the corner, reading the paper. The older mutant glanced up at John's entrance, but did a quick double-take when he realized he had no arms. Staring for a moment, Logan shrugged his shoulders and went back to the paper.
In all normal circumstances, he would have wet himself just then. But this isn't normal circumstances. Nothing can be normal in a house with two people covered in blue fur, a girl who can walk through walls, two people can read your thoughts, another controls the weather, blah, blah, blah, and the rest of the weird things people here do. I'm normal compared to the rest of them.
Walking over to the refrigerator, John instinctively went to open the door and of course, nothing happened.
Ok, enough of this.
"Don't be surprised if I fall," John said out loud. Planting his feet firmly on the ground, John leaned back against the counter, gritting his teeth and his eyes clenched shut, and applied the pressure within. And like a butterfly emerging from it's cocoon, two new arms sprung forth, the light from the windows reflecting off the strange film that covered them. In an odd, twisted way, it was a beautiful sight to behold. But in a normal, sane, rational way, it was a disgusting scene.
"D'you have to do that in here, kid?" Logan growled.
John ignored him and turned on the faucet by the sink, washing off his arms. He shook off the excess water and dried them off on his pants (cause that's what they're there for). And then John heard another growl. Only this growl didn't come from an angry Canadian. No, it came from his stomach.
John was able to open the refrigerator this time around, and pulled out a carton of milk, and found a bowl and a box of cereal and started with that. As John sat down and began to eat, he was amazed at the stillness that existed in the mansion. There was no talking, running, training, powers, nothing. It was absolute quiet. The only noises came from Logan's paper, or the crunching of the cereal.
Some minutes later, Logan spoke up again. "And here it comes..."
"Huh?" John said, looking over at him.
"You'll see, " he said gruffly. He picked up his newspaper and left the dining room.
John just shrugged his shoulders.
I wonder what that was about.
And as if someone up above heard his thoughts, they were quickly answered.
Kurt appeared in a cloud of smoke, and sat down next to John. "So, mein freund, do you vant to tell me vhat happened on ze date?"
"Can't now, eating," John said, staring down at his bowl.
"Mmmm, good idea." He hopped up and went foraging.
"Hey, hey!" Evan announced, stepping into the room. He pulled a glass out of the cabinet and sat across from John, filling his glass with from the milk carton John had. He took a long drink and pointed at John. "I heard you and Amara were outside 'saying goodbye' for a loooong time last night."
John looked up at him with a blank stare, and refilled his bowl with cereal and milk. "Can't talk now, eating."
"Hey, has anyone seen John?" a voice called out from the hallway outside. Scott poked his head into the dining room. "John? You in here? Oh, there you are." He stepped inside and confronted the younger mutant. "You didn't fill up my car with gas last night."
"Huh? Oh, sorry," John said. "I had a lot on my mind last night."
"But he von't tell us vhat happened," Kurt said, his head buried inside the refrigerator, his tail twitching idly in the air.
"I heard he was making out outside," Evan commented.
John looked up at Scott and said, "Listen, I didn't gas up your car because I was too excited about getting even with Pietro for what he did to me yesterday morning."
Evan's ears perked up at the mention of his rival. "What about that jerk, Maximoff?"
John shook his head. "Sorry, I've said enough for now. Can't talk, eating. I'll give you gas money later, Scott," he added.
And then as one, Bobby, Ray, Sam, and Roberto all came in, all asking John questions. They received the same responses as Kurt and Evan.
"Man, we should have talked to the girls. I bet they'll tell us," Bobby whined.
And then Jubilee and Rahne came sauntering into the room, sly grins on their faces.
"We just happened to overhear you boys outside," Jubilee said. "Do you want to know what happened last night?"
A chorus of "yes" rang out through the room.
"Ok then..." said Rahne. "Here's what happened..."
John threw his hands. "I'm gone. I don't think it's any of your business, but hey, if you want to talk about it, you'll do it without me. I've got arms to go bury." He pushed himself backwards and got up out of the chair and headed on back to his room, leaving the surprisingly silent dining room in his wake.
Jesus, if I knew all of this would happen, I wouldn't have gone on the date at all!
And then John thought about what all had happened.
Yeah ok, so I still would have gone.
A goofy grin plastered across his face, John stuffed his hands into his pockets and happily walked back upstairs.
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Just so you know, I tried opening a door with my mouth, and while it did take quite some time and a whole lot of cussing, it can happen.
Chapter 27
Author's Note: You know the routine: stuff in italics are thoughts and I love you all and thanks for the reviews.
Seriously Post, I think you know more of what the hell is going on in my story than I know myself. Did I mention how awesome you are? I need to bake you a cake or something.
Hey Race Baj, you were right about the date. I would have rather seen him pair up with Rogue, but it just didn't happen this time around. But that doesn't mean it won't ever happen...
Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men: Evolution or anything in it. Marvel and Kid's WB do. I just own John Jashback.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Jashback was floating on air after he finally went inside the Institute. It had been an interesting evening to say the least. But dread still welled up deep inside him.
I've got to do whatever Scott wants me to do, and now I've got to worry about that white haired guy...and probably the rest of the Brotherhood, after he tells them what happened.
Putting aside thoughts of violence, John floated up the stairs and to Scott's door. The authorization for entry was granted, and he stepped inside, shocked and appalled by the sight before him.
Piled in Scott's room was every male student who lived in the mansion, and all conversation ceased upon John's arrival. And then the flood of questions hit like a bullet between the eyes.
"So, what happened?"
"How did the date go?"
"Did you kiss her?"
"Did you wreck Scott's car?"
"Did you wreck my car?"
"Are you gonna go out again?"
John shook his head and raised up his arms in self-defense.
Jesus. You'd think they were little girls in middle school, they way they're acting.
"You know...it's none of your business," he said, nodding to himself. "Let's just say I got even with someone from the Brotherhood." Heh heh, let 'em chew on that for a while.
A chorus of whines and complaints and questions rang up all over again.
"Awww, why won't you tell us?"
"Come on! Vhy won't you tell us?"
"Yeah man, we just want to know what happened, that's all."
"I bet he kissed her, he just doesn't want to tell us."
"Who in the Brotherhood did you get even with?"
"I bet it was Lance. I'd want revenge if he beat me up."
John walked over and handed Scott his keys. "The car is fine. And we'll talk in the morning about what we were supposed to discuss tonight." Then he walked over to the bed and nudged a sleeping Jamie. "Psst. Hey? Jamie? You there? Wake up, buddy. C'mon, Private. Let's get you to bed."
Jamie opened his eyes and looked around groggily. "Oh hey John... You're back... How was your date?" he asked sleepily.
"I'll tell you later, but now we're going to get you to bed."
John hoisted up the younger mutant and helped him to his room, a parade of the others forming behind him, still asking questions. Once Jamie was in his room, he walked back to his own room, and closed and locked the door in the faces of the others, who were still inquiring about the date. John sighed and untucked his shirt and emptied his pockets, before laying down on his bed. The weird sound and smoke signaled Kurt teleporting into his room.
"So, are you going to tell me vhat happened on the date?"
John didn't bother to look up at him. "I'll tell you what. If you don't get out of my room now, I'll beat you over the head with my arm."
"Ah, ah. Temper," Kurt said, jumping up onto the ceiling. Hanging down and looking at John, he said, "Did my advice help you out? And vhat happened with ze Brotherhood?"
John sighed. "I tried to warn you." John took a hold of his left arm and pulled it off, before throwing it up at Kurt. It missed by a long shot, and fell somewhere at the foot of the bed. "Out! Now!"
The blue-furred mutant stuck his tongue out at him. "C'mon Gimpy. You can tell me! Did you kiss her?"
John did sit up this time, and clamped his right arm between his legs and pulled backwards, the arm cleanly off. He let the arm fall to the bed and clasped it with his feet, and tried to kick it upwards. Needless to say, it went up about an inch, before falling back onto the bed. "OUT!" John yelled.
Kurt laughed down at him. "Mein gott! You really are Gimpy!" He ignored John's scowl and continued, "But you vill tell me in ze morning?"
"Yes, yes, I'll tell you in the morning. NOW LET ME GO TO SLEEP!!"
Kurt nodded and said, "Danke," before disappearing from John's room.
Grumbling, John rolled off the bed and walked over to the door, flicking off the light switch with his teeth. He climbed back onto the bed, not bothering to grow back his arms or even take off his shoes. Besides, if he did regenerate the limbs, he'd be too hungry to sleep. And with that parting note, John Jashback, the armless mutant teenager drifted off to sleep.
**********
As life flooded back into John Jashback, his first impulse was to rub his eyes. But for some strange reason, he couldn't.
Oh right. No arms.
He rubbed his face on the bed for a moment, and blinked rapidly. He looked out the window to see sunlight pouring in, which meant it wasn't the middle of the night.
There. That's better.
John rolled over to the edge of his bed and rotated, throwing his legs off the side, and shakily standing up. Sure, he could have just made new arms and made the process go by much faster, but it was early, dammit, and he was still tired. And then came the ultimate challenge...
Sitting in a crouch, John examined the door knob, wondering just how he was going to open it. He looked down at his body, but nothing other than his hands were really capable of opening it, except...
Tilting his head, John opened his mouth as wide as it could go, and engulfed the handle inside his jaw. Biting down, he twisted his head painfully to the side, turn the knob with him, and pulled out.
Fortunately, it only took John three or four tries to finally get the door open. When it finally was opened, he felt the need to rub his sore jaw, but he just had to suck it up.
Shambling his way down the stairs, John walked into the empty dining room, save for Logan, who was sitting on the corner, reading the paper. The older mutant glanced up at John's entrance, but did a quick double-take when he realized he had no arms. Staring for a moment, Logan shrugged his shoulders and went back to the paper.
In all normal circumstances, he would have wet himself just then. But this isn't normal circumstances. Nothing can be normal in a house with two people covered in blue fur, a girl who can walk through walls, two people can read your thoughts, another controls the weather, blah, blah, blah, and the rest of the weird things people here do. I'm normal compared to the rest of them.
Walking over to the refrigerator, John instinctively went to open the door and of course, nothing happened.
Ok, enough of this.
"Don't be surprised if I fall," John said out loud. Planting his feet firmly on the ground, John leaned back against the counter, gritting his teeth and his eyes clenched shut, and applied the pressure within. And like a butterfly emerging from it's cocoon, two new arms sprung forth, the light from the windows reflecting off the strange film that covered them. In an odd, twisted way, it was a beautiful sight to behold. But in a normal, sane, rational way, it was a disgusting scene.
"D'you have to do that in here, kid?" Logan growled.
John ignored him and turned on the faucet by the sink, washing off his arms. He shook off the excess water and dried them off on his pants (cause that's what they're there for). And then John heard another growl. Only this growl didn't come from an angry Canadian. No, it came from his stomach.
John was able to open the refrigerator this time around, and pulled out a carton of milk, and found a bowl and a box of cereal and started with that. As John sat down and began to eat, he was amazed at the stillness that existed in the mansion. There was no talking, running, training, powers, nothing. It was absolute quiet. The only noises came from Logan's paper, or the crunching of the cereal.
Some minutes later, Logan spoke up again. "And here it comes..."
"Huh?" John said, looking over at him.
"You'll see, " he said gruffly. He picked up his newspaper and left the dining room.
John just shrugged his shoulders.
I wonder what that was about.
And as if someone up above heard his thoughts, they were quickly answered.
Kurt appeared in a cloud of smoke, and sat down next to John. "So, mein freund, do you vant to tell me vhat happened on ze date?"
"Can't now, eating," John said, staring down at his bowl.
"Mmmm, good idea." He hopped up and went foraging.
"Hey, hey!" Evan announced, stepping into the room. He pulled a glass out of the cabinet and sat across from John, filling his glass with from the milk carton John had. He took a long drink and pointed at John. "I heard you and Amara were outside 'saying goodbye' for a loooong time last night."
John looked up at him with a blank stare, and refilled his bowl with cereal and milk. "Can't talk now, eating."
"Hey, has anyone seen John?" a voice called out from the hallway outside. Scott poked his head into the dining room. "John? You in here? Oh, there you are." He stepped inside and confronted the younger mutant. "You didn't fill up my car with gas last night."
"Huh? Oh, sorry," John said. "I had a lot on my mind last night."
"But he von't tell us vhat happened," Kurt said, his head buried inside the refrigerator, his tail twitching idly in the air.
"I heard he was making out outside," Evan commented.
John looked up at Scott and said, "Listen, I didn't gas up your car because I was too excited about getting even with Pietro for what he did to me yesterday morning."
Evan's ears perked up at the mention of his rival. "What about that jerk, Maximoff?"
John shook his head. "Sorry, I've said enough for now. Can't talk, eating. I'll give you gas money later, Scott," he added.
And then as one, Bobby, Ray, Sam, and Roberto all came in, all asking John questions. They received the same responses as Kurt and Evan.
"Man, we should have talked to the girls. I bet they'll tell us," Bobby whined.
And then Jubilee and Rahne came sauntering into the room, sly grins on their faces.
"We just happened to overhear you boys outside," Jubilee said. "Do you want to know what happened last night?"
A chorus of "yes" rang out through the room.
"Ok then..." said Rahne. "Here's what happened..."
John threw his hands. "I'm gone. I don't think it's any of your business, but hey, if you want to talk about it, you'll do it without me. I've got arms to go bury." He pushed himself backwards and got up out of the chair and headed on back to his room, leaving the surprisingly silent dining room in his wake.
Jesus, if I knew all of this would happen, I wouldn't have gone on the date at all!
And then John thought about what all had happened.
Yeah ok, so I still would have gone.
A goofy grin plastered across his face, John stuffed his hands into his pockets and happily walked back upstairs.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just so you know, I tried opening a door with my mouth, and while it did take quite some time and a whole lot of cussing, it can happen.