There Must Be Some Kind of Way Out of Here
Chapter 34
Author's Note: You know the routine. Stuff in italics are thoughts. And in this particular chapter, the large chunk of italics not too far down is a flashback.
Heh, finally, we get to some real plot development. Enough of this filler junk I've been doing. Finally, something interesting to read, other than something random I stuck together. Say it with me: Huzzah. Or not.
Istanbul, not Constantinople.
Disclaimer: Don't own any of this, except my original character, John.
If bad language offends you, or gives you the urge to buy orgasmic shampoo, just uh...read the story and replace the word with a cutesy alternative.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
John stared down at his feet as he trudged his way to class, not-so-eagerly awaiting the events this new day would bring. As soon as Jamie had been dropped off at his school, John shut his eyes and ignored everything around him, until they finally arrived at the high school.
It's Monday. Monday's suck. I'm at school. School sucks. And my usual list of reasons in which I'm allowed to be bitchy: my arms fall off, I don't know how to keep my mouth shut, I'm really cheesy when it comes to girls, and... The list went on and on, most of the things John brought up being stupid, pointless, and trivial.
And thus is me.
Shut up.
Yeah, ok. I do sometimes frighten myself at how angsty I can be. Must be the hormones.
However, it was only a matter of time, he convinced himself, before something happened that would make the day worse than it already was.
And how he would rue ever thinking that...
"Hey! Watch where you're goin'!" a voice said, and suddenly John was sent reeling backwards, his feet sliding across the tile floor. He blinked hard and looked up and around, confused beyond belief.
"Huh?" he murmured absently.
Suddenly, red and white filled John's vision and it took him a moment to realize he was staring at a person. A person wearing a jacket, to be precise. A person wearing a fancy Bayville High letter jacket. His eyes traced up the person's chest, until he was looking at the scowling face of an older, blond haired guy who looked like someone the girls fawned after.
"Huh?"
"You don't hear very well, do you?" the older student spat. He brought up a fist and grabbed John by the collar of his shirt. "You're lucky I don't pound your face in. Consider this your warning: watch where you're going next time."
What the hell is he babbling about?
"Huh?" John replied, still very much confused.
And then John was moving backwards again, and it took a moment for him realize he had been pushed. By the time he had regained his balance and composure, the blond guy had his back turned to John, and began gesturing and guffawing with some of his similarly-dressed cronies.
And the proverbial light bulb came on in John's head.
Hey...that's the guy Jean's shaboinkin' with or whatever. So that means he's the guy who gets to kick my ass today. Oh joy. Remind me to thank Scott later.
John sighed hopelessly and resumed his trudging, this time, watching where he was going.
Well, at least it can't get worse than this...
He spoke too soon.
**********
John shivered as the cold water cascaded across his newly regenerated right arm. He glanced up at his reflection in the mirror and shook his head at the sight behind him. It was really very funny, and John hadn't felt so good since...well, there wasn't much that had happened that could top this. They didn't know what his power was, which was why they were all in a state of utter shock...
A large meaty hand shot out from nowhere, clamping down hard on John's shoulder. Everything shifted to the right, and he found himself face-to-face with another person's chest.
"Jesus. You'd think I'd have some luck and someone I'd run into would be a girl..." he thought.
Fred Dukes, appropriately known as the Blob to others, stared back down at John before practically throwing him completely into the bathroom. In fact, for a brief two seconds, John Jashback had the ability to fly. But the recently-airborne mutant had to make an emergency landing on the cold, dank floor of the bathroom; not a very pleasant place to suddenly find yourself laying in.
Laying flat on his stomach, John looked up in front of him and groaned. Who else would be in the restroom with him, but Lance Alvers, Pietro, and the little green guy who tried to steal from John.
John pushed himself up onto his feet and regarded them. "Look guys, I don't know what kind of shit you're tryin' to pull, and I couldn't really care. I've got to get to class, and as far as I'm concerned, we're even."
He spun around and started to walk away, not giving them a chance to reply. "The sooner I get out, there's less of a chance that something bad will happen," he told himself. It was a shame that it didn't quite work out like that.
As John pushed his way past the blob that was...the Blob, something grabbed his arm, and yanked backwards. But that was all he felt. The grasp and the pull.
"How can this be happening so early?" he wailed in his mind.
Luckily, John hadn't made it out of the restroom when it happened, so no one would have seen the one-armed man. Except the Brotherhood.
"That's right. They haven't seen my power..." John thought. This was going to be good.
Turning around, John barely contained his laughter as the four mutant delinquents stared wide-eyed and gaping, especially poor Fred, who looked as if he wasn't sure if he should drop the arm, throw it away, or try and put it back on John.
"I...I think you broke him, yo," the green-skinned boy, whom John finally remembered as Toad, said, breaking the ice.
"Uh...uh...uh...uh..." stammered Fred.
"Give me that," John said, snatching his arm from the larger boy's elephantine-like hand. He swung his backpack around in front of him (an easy task, as it now hung limply on one shoulder) and slid his loose limb inside.
John walked over to the long counter of sinks and mirrors and leaned onto it for support. He clamped his mouth shut and shut his eyes, and grunted, the same strange sinewy-sounding noise indicating the regeneration of a new limb. Behind him, he heard a girlish little yelp, and the sound of something falling over...
It really wasn't their fault. They just didn't know.
Behind him, Pietro Maximoff let out a low moan and stood back up, rubbing various parts of his body that had impacted with the floor when he fainted. His fellow Brotherhood members paid him no mind, their gazes still locked on the newest X-Man.
Still feeling euphoric, John turned off the faucet and briefly shook his arm dry, before wiping it clean with a paper towel. "So...you guys gonna let me go now?"
"Man, and people think I'm weird..." the Toad muttered.
"So uh...is that your...uh...y'know..." Fred choked out.
John held out his recently-regenerated arm, and the other four took a step backwards. "Pretty useless, huh?"
Lance worked his jaw as if he were trying to say something, but no noise came from him.
"The other arm does the same. Wanna see?" John held up his other arm and waved it at them.
He was met with a stone wall of silence.
"Guess not," John said, smirking.
Overhead, a bell let out it's shrilly call.
"Oh look, there's the bell. You guys wouldn't mind if I went to class now, would you?"
The four shook their heads numbly, and John left the restroom, practically floating on air.
**********
John barely managed to make it to class without being tardy, and as the teacher stood in front of the class, droning on about whatever happened to be in the curriculum, John smiled lazily and nodded off into space.
There truly is justice in the world.
But, being a side-effect of John's mutant power was bad luck, he had yet to execute his plan for the stupid idea Scott had.
I swear to God, I hate Scott Summers right now. Damn 'Look-At-My-Cool-Glasses-Cause-They-Make-Me-Look-So-Badass' Scott Summers ruining my happiness.
Lunch was going to suck.
**********
John set his food-laden lunch tray down on the table and sat down with his fellow mutants.
"Looks like somebody's hungry..." Evan Daniels said wryly.
"Who? Me? I'm always hungry!" Kurt Wagner exclaimed.
"Not you, Kurt. Gimpy over here. I think he's going to beat you in sheer food consumption today."
"Oooooh, using the big words, Evan?" Kitty Pryde said, putting on a fake sneer.
John shook his head and blocked out the conversation, shoving his plastic spork into the cardboard meat, glancing over to Scott. The older mutant was looking at him, or so John thought. It's so damn hard to tell with those glasses. He could look down a girls shirt and no one would know... Lucky bastard...
John barely nodded, and Scott did the same.
It was time to put the plan into action.
John coughed the 'meat' out of his mouth and stared at his tray in disgust. "Alright, I've had enough of this crap they call food," he spat, his voice full of loathing. "I'm gonna dump this and go complain or something." He stood up, tray in hand, and started walking off to the other side of the cafeteria.
"Aw, all zhat food..." Kurt whined.
Scott glanced down at his watch. "Ooh, look at the time. I'll see you guys after school. I got something to go do right now..." He stood up and started in the same direction as John, making a quick turn over and around him.
The crap you get yourself into, John. And all because you wanted to impress a girl you barely knew. Real fuckin' intelligent there.
Do you have to be so negative all the time?
You tell me. You're me, after all.
...Damn you.
Up ahead, John sighted his quarry. The same blond idiot who pushed him around earlier. And Scott was right: Jean would be with him, as would his other jacket-wearing friends.
God, if you're up there, and not too busy looking at women all over the planet taking showers, could you do me a big favor and make sure I come through this without dying?
John looked down at his food-covered tray and went in, the broad back of the blond guy painting a large target.
Stepping right up behind him, John tipped over the tray, the food spilling over the side...and onto the blond guy's back.
"Oh my God! I'm so sorry! I must have tripped!" John exclaimed, lying through his teeth.
"Holy shit! What the hell are you doin'?!?" the blond guy shouted, jumping out of his seat and looking at all of the food sitting in his chair.
"Oh man, I'm so sorry! I tripped, and dropped all my food! Crap, I'm so sorry, man!"
John said pleading, half lying, and half meaning it. Granted, he was supposed to say that, but he really hoped the damage done would be minimal.
**********
"Whoa! Kurt, check out what ol' Gimpy just did to Duncan Matthews!" Evan shouted, pointed excitedly to the other end of the cafeteria, where the blond-haired, food covered Duncan was shouting angrily at John Jashback.
Kurt turned his head around and his eyes instantly widened.
"C'mon, K-Man, we gotta get him outta there before he gets pounded!"
The two boys jumped up and started running over to the altercation, which was rapidly gaining an audience.
"Hey guys! Like, wait for me!" Kitty Pryde shouted, chasing after them.
**********
John held up his arms in a half-hearted defense. "Look man, I'm really sorry. Honest. I tripped, and spilled my food! It isn't my fault you were in the way! You've got a good reason to be pissed, cause that was a waste of some good food!"
The big blond guy, Duncan, visibly fumed. Jean Grey stood in front of him, pleading with him to calm down, while all of his buddies crowded around (along with everyone else in the cafeteria), egging Duncan on to kick John's ass.
**********
Scott Summers watched the 'accident' take place, and the exchange. He stepped forward, pushing himself through the crowd. It was almost time he made his move.
**********
"Hey yo, look over there!" said Todd Tolansky.
His fellow (male) Brotherhood members were skulking in the cafeteria, when the 'accident' occurred.
"Looks like the freaky X-Geek is gettin' in a fight with Mister Big-Shot Football Player. 'Bout time that jerk picked on someone besides me..." Todd grumbled. He and Duncan Matthews had a few various run-ins before, including one that ended with an explosion and a concussion.
"Wanna go watch?" Fred drawled.
"I dunno. That guy's kinda creepy," Todd replied.
Fred nodded quietly.
"Oh, you guys are just chicken," Pietro said, in his usual rapid-fire talk.
Lance snorted. "He's the guy who made you faint."
"Yeah, and I should kick his ass again for that..." Pietro grumbled.
"That's if you don't faint again. Or if he doesn't beat you up again, yo."
Pietro scowled, and rather than argue with his decidedly stupid teammates, he disappeared, a gust of wind marking his speedy departure.
**********
Duncan Matthews took a swing at John, his large fist aiming straight for his head.
John ducked as it passed overhead, as he frantically searched the crowd for Scott.
All around them, scores of other students cheered and booed and shouted, as fights were simple enough to bring the day's routine to a grinding halt.
Where the hell are you, dammit?!
John wasn't so lucky with Duncan's second swing, as it came around and connected square with his jaw.
Falling onto the cold floor, John clutched his face and howled in pain, screaming one word at himself in his head: fuck.
And then, John was back on his feet, staring at Duncan's face, which had a sick grin on it. "I'm gonna enjoy this, punk. It'll teach you to spill your damn food on me. You had your warning this morning. I guess you were too stupid to listen to it." He pulled back a balled-up fist, aimed straight at his face.
John winced and shut his eyes, waiting for his impending doom, as the crowd all around clamored for blood...
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Alright, there. I ended with a cliffhanger. I needed to post a chapter so you'd all know I was still alive and writing, even though I've been working my ass off for the past two days, thus giving me little writing time, but hey, here you go. Enjoy, until the next chapter comes.
Before anyone thinks that I really don't like Pietro (which one might think after me calling him gay and having him faint and scream like a sissy), let me say that I don't hate him. In fact, I think he's an alright guy (but really only because I can trace a connection from him to Iron Man, and any character that has a connection to Iron Man is cool in my book).
Chapter 34
Author's Note: You know the routine. Stuff in italics are thoughts. And in this particular chapter, the large chunk of italics not too far down is a flashback.
Heh, finally, we get to some real plot development. Enough of this filler junk I've been doing. Finally, something interesting to read, other than something random I stuck together. Say it with me: Huzzah. Or not.
Disclaimer: Don't own any of this, except my original character, John.
If bad language offends you, or gives you the urge to buy orgasmic shampoo, just uh...read the story and replace the word with a cutesy alternative.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
John stared down at his feet as he trudged his way to class, not-so-eagerly awaiting the events this new day would bring. As soon as Jamie had been dropped off at his school, John shut his eyes and ignored everything around him, until they finally arrived at the high school.
It's Monday. Monday's suck. I'm at school. School sucks. And my usual list of reasons in which I'm allowed to be bitchy: my arms fall off, I don't know how to keep my mouth shut, I'm really cheesy when it comes to girls, and... The list went on and on, most of the things John brought up being stupid, pointless, and trivial.
And thus is me.
Shut up.
Yeah, ok. I do sometimes frighten myself at how angsty I can be. Must be the hormones.
However, it was only a matter of time, he convinced himself, before something happened that would make the day worse than it already was.
And how he would rue ever thinking that...
"Hey! Watch where you're goin'!" a voice said, and suddenly John was sent reeling backwards, his feet sliding across the tile floor. He blinked hard and looked up and around, confused beyond belief.
"Huh?" he murmured absently.
Suddenly, red and white filled John's vision and it took him a moment to realize he was staring at a person. A person wearing a jacket, to be precise. A person wearing a fancy Bayville High letter jacket. His eyes traced up the person's chest, until he was looking at the scowling face of an older, blond haired guy who looked like someone the girls fawned after.
"Huh?"
"You don't hear very well, do you?" the older student spat. He brought up a fist and grabbed John by the collar of his shirt. "You're lucky I don't pound your face in. Consider this your warning: watch where you're going next time."
What the hell is he babbling about?
"Huh?" John replied, still very much confused.
And then John was moving backwards again, and it took a moment for him realize he had been pushed. By the time he had regained his balance and composure, the blond guy had his back turned to John, and began gesturing and guffawing with some of his similarly-dressed cronies.
And the proverbial light bulb came on in John's head.
Hey...that's the guy Jean's shaboinkin' with or whatever. So that means he's the guy who gets to kick my ass today. Oh joy. Remind me to thank Scott later.
John sighed hopelessly and resumed his trudging, this time, watching where he was going.
Well, at least it can't get worse than this...
He spoke too soon.
**********
John shivered as the cold water cascaded across his newly regenerated right arm. He glanced up at his reflection in the mirror and shook his head at the sight behind him. It was really very funny, and John hadn't felt so good since...well, there wasn't much that had happened that could top this. They didn't know what his power was, which was why they were all in a state of utter shock...
A large meaty hand shot out from nowhere, clamping down hard on John's shoulder. Everything shifted to the right, and he found himself face-to-face with another person's chest.
"Jesus. You'd think I'd have some luck and someone I'd run into would be a girl..." he thought.
Fred Dukes, appropriately known as the Blob to others, stared back down at John before practically throwing him completely into the bathroom. In fact, for a brief two seconds, John Jashback had the ability to fly. But the recently-airborne mutant had to make an emergency landing on the cold, dank floor of the bathroom; not a very pleasant place to suddenly find yourself laying in.
Laying flat on his stomach, John looked up in front of him and groaned. Who else would be in the restroom with him, but Lance Alvers, Pietro, and the little green guy who tried to steal from John.
John pushed himself up onto his feet and regarded them. "Look guys, I don't know what kind of shit you're tryin' to pull, and I couldn't really care. I've got to get to class, and as far as I'm concerned, we're even."
He spun around and started to walk away, not giving them a chance to reply. "The sooner I get out, there's less of a chance that something bad will happen," he told himself. It was a shame that it didn't quite work out like that.
As John pushed his way past the blob that was...the Blob, something grabbed his arm, and yanked backwards. But that was all he felt. The grasp and the pull.
"How can this be happening so early?" he wailed in his mind.
Luckily, John hadn't made it out of the restroom when it happened, so no one would have seen the one-armed man. Except the Brotherhood.
"That's right. They haven't seen my power..." John thought. This was going to be good.
Turning around, John barely contained his laughter as the four mutant delinquents stared wide-eyed and gaping, especially poor Fred, who looked as if he wasn't sure if he should drop the arm, throw it away, or try and put it back on John.
"I...I think you broke him, yo," the green-skinned boy, whom John finally remembered as Toad, said, breaking the ice.
"Uh...uh...uh...uh..." stammered Fred.
"Give me that," John said, snatching his arm from the larger boy's elephantine-like hand. He swung his backpack around in front of him (an easy task, as it now hung limply on one shoulder) and slid his loose limb inside.
John walked over to the long counter of sinks and mirrors and leaned onto it for support. He clamped his mouth shut and shut his eyes, and grunted, the same strange sinewy-sounding noise indicating the regeneration of a new limb. Behind him, he heard a girlish little yelp, and the sound of something falling over...
It really wasn't their fault. They just didn't know.
Behind him, Pietro Maximoff let out a low moan and stood back up, rubbing various parts of his body that had impacted with the floor when he fainted. His fellow Brotherhood members paid him no mind, their gazes still locked on the newest X-Man.
Still feeling euphoric, John turned off the faucet and briefly shook his arm dry, before wiping it clean with a paper towel. "So...you guys gonna let me go now?"
"Man, and people think I'm weird..." the Toad muttered.
"So uh...is that your...uh...y'know..." Fred choked out.
John held out his recently-regenerated arm, and the other four took a step backwards. "Pretty useless, huh?"
Lance worked his jaw as if he were trying to say something, but no noise came from him.
"The other arm does the same. Wanna see?" John held up his other arm and waved it at them.
He was met with a stone wall of silence.
"Guess not," John said, smirking.
Overhead, a bell let out it's shrilly call.
"Oh look, there's the bell. You guys wouldn't mind if I went to class now, would you?"
The four shook their heads numbly, and John left the restroom, practically floating on air.
**********
John barely managed to make it to class without being tardy, and as the teacher stood in front of the class, droning on about whatever happened to be in the curriculum, John smiled lazily and nodded off into space.
There truly is justice in the world.
But, being a side-effect of John's mutant power was bad luck, he had yet to execute his plan for the stupid idea Scott had.
I swear to God, I hate Scott Summers right now. Damn 'Look-At-My-Cool-Glasses-Cause-They-Make-Me-Look-So-Badass' Scott Summers ruining my happiness.
Lunch was going to suck.
**********
John set his food-laden lunch tray down on the table and sat down with his fellow mutants.
"Looks like somebody's hungry..." Evan Daniels said wryly.
"Who? Me? I'm always hungry!" Kurt Wagner exclaimed.
"Not you, Kurt. Gimpy over here. I think he's going to beat you in sheer food consumption today."
"Oooooh, using the big words, Evan?" Kitty Pryde said, putting on a fake sneer.
John shook his head and blocked out the conversation, shoving his plastic spork into the cardboard meat, glancing over to Scott. The older mutant was looking at him, or so John thought. It's so damn hard to tell with those glasses. He could look down a girls shirt and no one would know... Lucky bastard...
John barely nodded, and Scott did the same.
It was time to put the plan into action.
John coughed the 'meat' out of his mouth and stared at his tray in disgust. "Alright, I've had enough of this crap they call food," he spat, his voice full of loathing. "I'm gonna dump this and go complain or something." He stood up, tray in hand, and started walking off to the other side of the cafeteria.
"Aw, all zhat food..." Kurt whined.
Scott glanced down at his watch. "Ooh, look at the time. I'll see you guys after school. I got something to go do right now..." He stood up and started in the same direction as John, making a quick turn over and around him.
The crap you get yourself into, John. And all because you wanted to impress a girl you barely knew. Real fuckin' intelligent there.
Do you have to be so negative all the time?
You tell me. You're me, after all.
...Damn you.
Up ahead, John sighted his quarry. The same blond idiot who pushed him around earlier. And Scott was right: Jean would be with him, as would his other jacket-wearing friends.
God, if you're up there, and not too busy looking at women all over the planet taking showers, could you do me a big favor and make sure I come through this without dying?
John looked down at his food-covered tray and went in, the broad back of the blond guy painting a large target.
Stepping right up behind him, John tipped over the tray, the food spilling over the side...and onto the blond guy's back.
"Oh my God! I'm so sorry! I must have tripped!" John exclaimed, lying through his teeth.
"Holy shit! What the hell are you doin'?!?" the blond guy shouted, jumping out of his seat and looking at all of the food sitting in his chair.
"Oh man, I'm so sorry! I tripped, and dropped all my food! Crap, I'm so sorry, man!"
John said pleading, half lying, and half meaning it. Granted, he was supposed to say that, but he really hoped the damage done would be minimal.
**********
"Whoa! Kurt, check out what ol' Gimpy just did to Duncan Matthews!" Evan shouted, pointed excitedly to the other end of the cafeteria, where the blond-haired, food covered Duncan was shouting angrily at John Jashback.
Kurt turned his head around and his eyes instantly widened.
"C'mon, K-Man, we gotta get him outta there before he gets pounded!"
The two boys jumped up and started running over to the altercation, which was rapidly gaining an audience.
"Hey guys! Like, wait for me!" Kitty Pryde shouted, chasing after them.
**********
John held up his arms in a half-hearted defense. "Look man, I'm really sorry. Honest. I tripped, and spilled my food! It isn't my fault you were in the way! You've got a good reason to be pissed, cause that was a waste of some good food!"
The big blond guy, Duncan, visibly fumed. Jean Grey stood in front of him, pleading with him to calm down, while all of his buddies crowded around (along with everyone else in the cafeteria), egging Duncan on to kick John's ass.
**********
Scott Summers watched the 'accident' take place, and the exchange. He stepped forward, pushing himself through the crowd. It was almost time he made his move.
**********
"Hey yo, look over there!" said Todd Tolansky.
His fellow (male) Brotherhood members were skulking in the cafeteria, when the 'accident' occurred.
"Looks like the freaky X-Geek is gettin' in a fight with Mister Big-Shot Football Player. 'Bout time that jerk picked on someone besides me..." Todd grumbled. He and Duncan Matthews had a few various run-ins before, including one that ended with an explosion and a concussion.
"Wanna go watch?" Fred drawled.
"I dunno. That guy's kinda creepy," Todd replied.
Fred nodded quietly.
"Oh, you guys are just chicken," Pietro said, in his usual rapid-fire talk.
Lance snorted. "He's the guy who made you faint."
"Yeah, and I should kick his ass again for that..." Pietro grumbled.
"That's if you don't faint again. Or if he doesn't beat you up again, yo."
Pietro scowled, and rather than argue with his decidedly stupid teammates, he disappeared, a gust of wind marking his speedy departure.
**********
Duncan Matthews took a swing at John, his large fist aiming straight for his head.
John ducked as it passed overhead, as he frantically searched the crowd for Scott.
All around them, scores of other students cheered and booed and shouted, as fights were simple enough to bring the day's routine to a grinding halt.
Where the hell are you, dammit?!
John wasn't so lucky with Duncan's second swing, as it came around and connected square with his jaw.
Falling onto the cold floor, John clutched his face and howled in pain, screaming one word at himself in his head: fuck.
And then, John was back on his feet, staring at Duncan's face, which had a sick grin on it. "I'm gonna enjoy this, punk. It'll teach you to spill your damn food on me. You had your warning this morning. I guess you were too stupid to listen to it." He pulled back a balled-up fist, aimed straight at his face.
John winced and shut his eyes, waiting for his impending doom, as the crowd all around clamored for blood...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alright, there. I ended with a cliffhanger. I needed to post a chapter so you'd all know I was still alive and writing, even though I've been working my ass off for the past two days, thus giving me little writing time, but hey, here you go. Enjoy, until the next chapter comes.
Before anyone thinks that I really don't like Pietro (which one might think after me calling him gay and having him faint and scream like a sissy), let me say that I don't hate him. In fact, I think he's an alright guy (but really only because I can trace a connection from him to Iron Man, and any character that has a connection to Iron Man is cool in my book).