There Must Be Some Kind of Way Out of Here
Chapter 30
Author's Note: Stuff in italics are thoughts and I love you all and thanks for the reviews. And yes, Son of Logan and Ororo, I'm a big fan of Tesla. Chapter 27's name is from an Iron Maiden song, and of course, the story title is from a Jimi Hendrix song. And who knows what others I'll toss in.
Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men: Evolution or anything in it. Marvel and Kid's WB do. I just own John Jashback and all arms he loses.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
John stood off to the side in the exercise room, watching Rogue and Logan spar in the middle. They were kicking, punching, flipping, dodging, jumping, and doing all other sorts of kung-fuish moves. Rogue was holding her own pretty well against Logan, though John guessed that he was holding back. Logan was wearing some weird orange and black suit that John honestly made him look more fearsome. He couldn't explain it, but it made the man all the more intimidating.
Rogue flipped backwards two or three times to evade a kick from Logan, and she quickly recovered and kicked at him herself. Logan was poised and ready for it, and he grabbed her leg and flipped her over, and Rogue hit the floor mat hard. She groaned and didn't bother to get back up. John didn't blame her. The two of them had been going at it for a good while.
Pulling up the girl, Logan said in his usual gruff voice, "Remember Stripes, don't leave yourself open for an attack like that. I could have done worse to ya, and you know it."
Rogue nodded. "Sorry. Ah'm just a little tired, that's all."
"Were you watching all that, kid?" Logan barked at John.
Unconsciously stiffening to attention, John swallowed hard and said, "Uh, yes sir. I uh, was, sir." He paused a moment and continued. "Am I uh, going to have to do that now?"
Logan shook his head. "Not today, kid. Maybe in a couple of days, I'll let you and Rogue go at it so we can see just where exactly you need work."
John sighed.
Oh joy. That'll be fun.
"In the meantime," Logan said, pointing at all of the various gym equipment in the room, "Find yerself something and get to it."
Nodding, John walked over to an exercise bike, and started it up. There was nothing wrong with starting off slow, getting himself warmed up and stretched out. And besides, there was no point in lifting weights. What was the point of building muscles in the arms if they'll just fall off and get replaced with new ones? John slanted his mouth in thought.
I'll have to ask Mr. McCoy about that later. I certainly hope that isn't true -- working my ass off only to have it all go down the tubes because my arms fell off.
Looking down at his legs, John silently prayed that they wouldn't start falling off. Arms were one thing, but legs were a whole new ballgame. Glancing back up, John noticed that Logan had left the room, and Rogue was in a corner, busy beating the tar out of a punching bag.
She hitting that thing hard enough?
"You know, you don't have to worry about that thing hitting back, right?"
Either Rogue didn't hear him, or she ignored him. But she never let up on the punching and kicking.
Christ. Glad that isn't me.
John jumped off the bike and walked over to a rack of barbells, and pulled off a large weight. Laying down on his back, he put it on his chest and started doing sit-ups. John did that until he was too tired to move, and rolled the weight off his chest, and spread out on the floor, groaning softly.
"You tired ahlready?"
John opened his eyes and looked up at Rogue. "Yup."
Oh yes. That was a hell of an answer. Good lookin' girl makes a comment and you get all retarded. You're an idiot, John.
She shook her head and walked away from him. Pushing himself up on his elbows and blocking out his negative voice in his head, John said, "C'mon. I've only been here...five days. Besides, my chest is killing me. And my back."
With an eyebrow up in the air, Rogue gave him a disbelieving look.
"Ok, so I'm weak. You think I did all this at home?"
"If yah're so weak, then how could yah have gotten even with Pietro?"
John looked around for a moment, making sure no one else was in the room. "That was nothing but pure dumb luck. I got the jump on him, which was why I came out unbeaten. Otherwise, you'd be talking to me, only I'd black and blue. Or I'd be back at home."
Rogue pursed her lips together and laughed. "At least yah're honest." She extended a hand and helped pull John onto his feet. "Come on. Ah don't think Logan'll mind if we leave early."
"We don't have to do anymore training today, do we?"
Rogue shook her head.
"Good, cause I'm tired," John said.
"From that little bit of workin' out yah did?" She smiled slyly. "Or did yah wear yahself out kissin' Amara, huh Hot Lips?"
"Ha ha. Funny. Forgive me if I don't fall to pieces laughing." John thought on that for a moment, but his laughter this time was genuine. "It could probably happen, too. And like I said, I'm not used to this stuff."
John knew he was whining. But it was better than admitting that she could kick his ass ten times from Tuesday. And that's if she didn't use hers powers. But then again, she wouldn't exactly benefit from absorbing John's powers.
John stumbled a moment, giggling like a schoolgirl. The image of Rogue with no arms...priceless. It would almost be worth seeing.
"What's so funny?" Rogue asked.
"Nothing..." John said. He looked over at Rogue, but the image flashed in his mind again, and he continued laughing like a fool.
"What?! Tell me wha's so funny!"
John shook his head. "It's n...nothing." But he didn't stop laughing.
"Men," Rogue said, her voice full of mock disgust. She tossed her head, her white stripes flailing about. She looked at John, who was still laughing, and pushed him hard into the wall.
John slumped down onto his knees, but it did nothing to shut him up. In fact, it only made things worse.
Rogue looked at John like he were totally insane and continued walking down the hall without him.
**********
For the second time that day, John Jashback took a shower. Afterwards, he went down to the kitchen and got the vacuum cleaner, and cleaned up the decaying arms in his room. He put a load of laundry into the wash and got a bite to eat. And somehow, he found himself sitting at the his desk, staring down at the letter he had written two nights before. As he read over it, he realized it would make his parents worry more than anything. He crumpled up the paper and left it sitting on the desk.
Maybe I should let them know how I'm doing. It couldn't hurt.
John headed back down to the kitchen and put his wet clothes into the dryer, found a phone, and called home. He punched in his phone number, heard three rings, and then a voice.
"Hello?" said a female voice on the other end.
"Mom? Hey, how are you doing? It's me, John."
"John? Oh, it's good to hear from you. I was staring to worry. Honey," John's mother called out, not directed at her son. "Pick up the phone! It's John!"
John heard a fumbling noise and then a male voice on the other end. "John?"
"Hey dad, how's it going?"
"Great. We're doing great. How are you doing there?"
John paused for a moment. "Everything is fine. Nothing big has happened, or anything," he lied.
"John," his mother said, "You were always a terrible liar."
Laughing, John said, "Well, ok. Everything here is fine...in fact, it's great. Have I got some stuff to tell you... First off, everyone here is really nice, and really cool too. But I'd say I'm the most normal guy here."
John was met with silence from the other end.
"Heh. Yeah, me, normal. This from the guy who's arms fall off."
Someone coughed loudly into the receiver. "A...arms?" his father choked out.
Oh crap.
"Yeah, uh, that. Uh, well, I woke up one morning and it was like that."
"But how?"
"Your guess is as good as mine," he lied again, hoping they'd believe him this time.
"Wow...both arms..." he father murmured.
"What makes you so normal compared to the others?" his mother interjected.
"Oh man. You wouldn't believe me. We got two people here who are blue and furry, a guy that shoots laser beams from his eyes, two people that can read minds, a girl who walks through walls, another who makes fire, a boy who makes ice, a woman who controls the weather..." John made himself stop. He was worried that if he spoke any more, they'd want to bring him home. Before he could say anything, he spoke again. "There are a few others, but they're all really nice people."
Silence.
"Mom? Dad? You guys still there?"
"You're kidding me, right?" his father asked.
"I wish."
Silence.
"But they're all really nice people," John said, trying to smooth any ruffled feathers.
Crap, think fast John. Think fast.
"You wouldn't believe all the pretty girls that are here..."
His father laughed. "Is that so? You got yourself a girlfriend then, huh?"
"Honey!" his mother said indignantly.
"Well, actually..."
His father laughed even louder.
"How do you already have a girlfriend?" his mother asked.
John's first impulse was to say something witty. Cause I'm just good like that. But he decided not to make any more of an idiot out of himself.
"I'm still trying to figure that one out myself," he finally said.
"What's her name?"
"Amara."
"Is she a nice girl?" his mom asked.
John rolled his eyes. "Yes, she is. I think you'd like her."
"And uh...what's her uh...'power'?"
"She's the one who makes fire."
"I see..."
"And how's school, honey?"
"Boring. Stupid. Just like it was back home."
His parents laughed.
"I think it's safe to say you're making friends? You did say they were nice people. Unless you're lying to us..."
"No no no... I am. Everyone here is nice. And I am making friends. There's a kid here, Jamie. He's younger than me. He's kind of become the little brother I never had. He multiplies into copies of himself. I think he really likes me because the others tease him and pick on him, since he's the youngest here. And there's Kurt. He's from Germany, and he's one of the furry blue guys. I think he eats more than I do."
"Well...they...certainly sound like nice boys," his mother said slowly.
"Uh...yeah. They uh, sure do, son," his father murmured.
"Don't sound so worried. I'll get some pictures of everyone and send them to you." A buzzing in the back caught John's attention. "Well, there's my laundry. I'll uh, call you guys later, ok?"
"Uh...sure. Uh. Well, call back soon, ok? We love you," his father said.
"Yes. Call us soon, sweetie. Remember, we do love you," his mother said.
"Ok, ok. I'll be sure to call back soon. Maybe tomorrow, after school or something. I love you guys. Bye."
John hung the phone back onto the receiver and stared at it for a moment.
"That went well," he said aloud. "I think..." John rubbed his chin for a moment. "Maybe I should have sent the letter instead..."
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Writing in accents is annoying sometimes. I don't know why I bother to sometimes. I mean, you know what the people talk like...oh well, I do it anyway.
Chapter 30
Author's Note: Stuff in italics are thoughts and I love you all and thanks for the reviews. And yes, Son of Logan and Ororo, I'm a big fan of Tesla. Chapter 27's name is from an Iron Maiden song, and of course, the story title is from a Jimi Hendrix song. And who knows what others I'll toss in.
Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men: Evolution or anything in it. Marvel and Kid's WB do. I just own John Jashback and all arms he loses.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
John stood off to the side in the exercise room, watching Rogue and Logan spar in the middle. They were kicking, punching, flipping, dodging, jumping, and doing all other sorts of kung-fuish moves. Rogue was holding her own pretty well against Logan, though John guessed that he was holding back. Logan was wearing some weird orange and black suit that John honestly made him look more fearsome. He couldn't explain it, but it made the man all the more intimidating.
Rogue flipped backwards two or three times to evade a kick from Logan, and she quickly recovered and kicked at him herself. Logan was poised and ready for it, and he grabbed her leg and flipped her over, and Rogue hit the floor mat hard. She groaned and didn't bother to get back up. John didn't blame her. The two of them had been going at it for a good while.
Pulling up the girl, Logan said in his usual gruff voice, "Remember Stripes, don't leave yourself open for an attack like that. I could have done worse to ya, and you know it."
Rogue nodded. "Sorry. Ah'm just a little tired, that's all."
"Were you watching all that, kid?" Logan barked at John.
Unconsciously stiffening to attention, John swallowed hard and said, "Uh, yes sir. I uh, was, sir." He paused a moment and continued. "Am I uh, going to have to do that now?"
Logan shook his head. "Not today, kid. Maybe in a couple of days, I'll let you and Rogue go at it so we can see just where exactly you need work."
John sighed.
Oh joy. That'll be fun.
"In the meantime," Logan said, pointing at all of the various gym equipment in the room, "Find yerself something and get to it."
Nodding, John walked over to an exercise bike, and started it up. There was nothing wrong with starting off slow, getting himself warmed up and stretched out. And besides, there was no point in lifting weights. What was the point of building muscles in the arms if they'll just fall off and get replaced with new ones? John slanted his mouth in thought.
I'll have to ask Mr. McCoy about that later. I certainly hope that isn't true -- working my ass off only to have it all go down the tubes because my arms fell off.
Looking down at his legs, John silently prayed that they wouldn't start falling off. Arms were one thing, but legs were a whole new ballgame. Glancing back up, John noticed that Logan had left the room, and Rogue was in a corner, busy beating the tar out of a punching bag.
She hitting that thing hard enough?
"You know, you don't have to worry about that thing hitting back, right?"
Either Rogue didn't hear him, or she ignored him. But she never let up on the punching and kicking.
Christ. Glad that isn't me.
John jumped off the bike and walked over to a rack of barbells, and pulled off a large weight. Laying down on his back, he put it on his chest and started doing sit-ups. John did that until he was too tired to move, and rolled the weight off his chest, and spread out on the floor, groaning softly.
"You tired ahlready?"
John opened his eyes and looked up at Rogue. "Yup."
Oh yes. That was a hell of an answer. Good lookin' girl makes a comment and you get all retarded. You're an idiot, John.
She shook her head and walked away from him. Pushing himself up on his elbows and blocking out his negative voice in his head, John said, "C'mon. I've only been here...five days. Besides, my chest is killing me. And my back."
With an eyebrow up in the air, Rogue gave him a disbelieving look.
"Ok, so I'm weak. You think I did all this at home?"
"If yah're so weak, then how could yah have gotten even with Pietro?"
John looked around for a moment, making sure no one else was in the room. "That was nothing but pure dumb luck. I got the jump on him, which was why I came out unbeaten. Otherwise, you'd be talking to me, only I'd black and blue. Or I'd be back at home."
Rogue pursed her lips together and laughed. "At least yah're honest." She extended a hand and helped pull John onto his feet. "Come on. Ah don't think Logan'll mind if we leave early."
"We don't have to do anymore training today, do we?"
Rogue shook her head.
"Good, cause I'm tired," John said.
"From that little bit of workin' out yah did?" She smiled slyly. "Or did yah wear yahself out kissin' Amara, huh Hot Lips?"
"Ha ha. Funny. Forgive me if I don't fall to pieces laughing." John thought on that for a moment, but his laughter this time was genuine. "It could probably happen, too. And like I said, I'm not used to this stuff."
John knew he was whining. But it was better than admitting that she could kick his ass ten times from Tuesday. And that's if she didn't use hers powers. But then again, she wouldn't exactly benefit from absorbing John's powers.
John stumbled a moment, giggling like a schoolgirl. The image of Rogue with no arms...priceless. It would almost be worth seeing.
"What's so funny?" Rogue asked.
"Nothing..." John said. He looked over at Rogue, but the image flashed in his mind again, and he continued laughing like a fool.
"What?! Tell me wha's so funny!"
John shook his head. "It's n...nothing." But he didn't stop laughing.
"Men," Rogue said, her voice full of mock disgust. She tossed her head, her white stripes flailing about. She looked at John, who was still laughing, and pushed him hard into the wall.
John slumped down onto his knees, but it did nothing to shut him up. In fact, it only made things worse.
Rogue looked at John like he were totally insane and continued walking down the hall without him.
**********
For the second time that day, John Jashback took a shower. Afterwards, he went down to the kitchen and got the vacuum cleaner, and cleaned up the decaying arms in his room. He put a load of laundry into the wash and got a bite to eat. And somehow, he found himself sitting at the his desk, staring down at the letter he had written two nights before. As he read over it, he realized it would make his parents worry more than anything. He crumpled up the paper and left it sitting on the desk.
Maybe I should let them know how I'm doing. It couldn't hurt.
John headed back down to the kitchen and put his wet clothes into the dryer, found a phone, and called home. He punched in his phone number, heard three rings, and then a voice.
"Hello?" said a female voice on the other end.
"Mom? Hey, how are you doing? It's me, John."
"John? Oh, it's good to hear from you. I was staring to worry. Honey," John's mother called out, not directed at her son. "Pick up the phone! It's John!"
John heard a fumbling noise and then a male voice on the other end. "John?"
"Hey dad, how's it going?"
"Great. We're doing great. How are you doing there?"
John paused for a moment. "Everything is fine. Nothing big has happened, or anything," he lied.
"John," his mother said, "You were always a terrible liar."
Laughing, John said, "Well, ok. Everything here is fine...in fact, it's great. Have I got some stuff to tell you... First off, everyone here is really nice, and really cool too. But I'd say I'm the most normal guy here."
John was met with silence from the other end.
"Heh. Yeah, me, normal. This from the guy who's arms fall off."
Someone coughed loudly into the receiver. "A...arms?" his father choked out.
Oh crap.
"Yeah, uh, that. Uh, well, I woke up one morning and it was like that."
"But how?"
"Your guess is as good as mine," he lied again, hoping they'd believe him this time.
"Wow...both arms..." he father murmured.
"What makes you so normal compared to the others?" his mother interjected.
"Oh man. You wouldn't believe me. We got two people here who are blue and furry, a guy that shoots laser beams from his eyes, two people that can read minds, a girl who walks through walls, another who makes fire, a boy who makes ice, a woman who controls the weather..." John made himself stop. He was worried that if he spoke any more, they'd want to bring him home. Before he could say anything, he spoke again. "There are a few others, but they're all really nice people."
Silence.
"Mom? Dad? You guys still there?"
"You're kidding me, right?" his father asked.
"I wish."
Silence.
"But they're all really nice people," John said, trying to smooth any ruffled feathers.
Crap, think fast John. Think fast.
"You wouldn't believe all the pretty girls that are here..."
His father laughed. "Is that so? You got yourself a girlfriend then, huh?"
"Honey!" his mother said indignantly.
"Well, actually..."
His father laughed even louder.
"How do you already have a girlfriend?" his mother asked.
John's first impulse was to say something witty. Cause I'm just good like that. But he decided not to make any more of an idiot out of himself.
"I'm still trying to figure that one out myself," he finally said.
"What's her name?"
"Amara."
"Is she a nice girl?" his mom asked.
John rolled his eyes. "Yes, she is. I think you'd like her."
"And uh...what's her uh...'power'?"
"She's the one who makes fire."
"I see..."
"And how's school, honey?"
"Boring. Stupid. Just like it was back home."
His parents laughed.
"I think it's safe to say you're making friends? You did say they were nice people. Unless you're lying to us..."
"No no no... I am. Everyone here is nice. And I am making friends. There's a kid here, Jamie. He's younger than me. He's kind of become the little brother I never had. He multiplies into copies of himself. I think he really likes me because the others tease him and pick on him, since he's the youngest here. And there's Kurt. He's from Germany, and he's one of the furry blue guys. I think he eats more than I do."
"Well...they...certainly sound like nice boys," his mother said slowly.
"Uh...yeah. They uh, sure do, son," his father murmured.
"Don't sound so worried. I'll get some pictures of everyone and send them to you." A buzzing in the back caught John's attention. "Well, there's my laundry. I'll uh, call you guys later, ok?"
"Uh...sure. Uh. Well, call back soon, ok? We love you," his father said.
"Yes. Call us soon, sweetie. Remember, we do love you," his mother said.
"Ok, ok. I'll be sure to call back soon. Maybe tomorrow, after school or something. I love you guys. Bye."
John hung the phone back onto the receiver and stared at it for a moment.
"That went well," he said aloud. "I think..." John rubbed his chin for a moment. "Maybe I should have sent the letter instead..."
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Writing in accents is annoying sometimes. I don't know why I bother to sometimes. I mean, you know what the people talk like...oh well, I do it anyway.