There Must Be Some Kind of Way Out of Here
Chapter 42
Author's Note: Stuff in italics are thoughts. You know that by now, I think.
Disclaimer: Don't own any of this - Marvel and Kid's WB do, except my original character, John. Oh, and I don't even know if this goes here, but if you don't like bad words, just...pretend they're something different.
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School ended as slowly and as dull as it had begun. The ride home was boring too, John and Jamie crammed in the back of the big van that drove him and the younger students around. Oh, of course they had to share the seat with a couple others, and at that particular moment in time, it was Sam and Ray, but the two were busy leaning forward to talk with Bobby and Roberto, who were happily engaged in either teasing or hitting on Amara, Jubilee, and Rahne. The trio seemed to take it all in stride, teasing and flirting in return. That was the typical routine of the ride home from school. As far as John could tell, it was always like that. He smiled on the inside, amused at how easily he had begun to fit into the routine, not just during the ride home, but of the Institute.
In all fairness, he actually had things pretty easy, especially when compared to the others. He still attended Danger Room sessions, but like Jamie, he spent most of his time in the control room, watching the others and learning the basic logistics of how it ran. He had been surprised to learn that Jamie could run the Danger Room so well, and he was probably the most skilled student in the mansion, just behind Scott (who, John noted, seemed to know everything, though how, he couldn't fathom). John would laugh, watching Jamie run such intense sessions for others, enough to keep them on their toes, but not to the point that it was endangering their lives, because the boy would do so with such a devilish grin on his face. He supposed it was the younger mutant's way of getting back at the others, who teased him because of his age.
His biological clock quickly adjusted to waking up early, and falling asleep early, and he took naps as often as he could. His body was getting used to fact that his physical activity had nearly quadrupled since he had come, but that he didn't mind. He was looking better, feeling better, and of course, all the exercising meant that he could check out Rogue when she was all hot and sweaty...
Jamie nudged John in the arm. "Did you hear what I just said?"
John blinked hard and looked down at the boy. "Sorry. I'm in my own little world. Mind saying it again?"
You mean your own little 'sexual fantasy' world?
Shut up.... And yes.
The boy opened his mouth, but never got a word out.
"You can bore him later, Jamie," Bobby said, jumping over the seat, and squirming himself in between the two J-named mutants. "So are you going to the dance?" he asked, poking John in the chest.
"Dance? What dance?" he replied, rubbing the area where he had been jabbed.
"The dance at the old folk's home, of course." Upon seeing John's confused look, the ice-making mutant rolled his eyes. "The Sadie Hawkins Dance...you know, at school..."
John shook his head. He knew nothing about a dance.
Maybe you should pay more attention in school, then.
Now why would I want to go and do that?
Hm. Good point. Hey, we finally found something we actually agree on!
John ignored the sheer absurdity of his last thought, and spoke before started to creep out Bobby with his sudden silence. Besides, the boy was digging into his hip, and the quicker he said something, the quicker he'd leave.
Then talk already!
Shut up.
"No...I didn't know about it. Besides, I don't think I'll go. Not like I have anyone to ask."
Bobby took on a strange, almost predatory, gleam in his eyes. "Oh, but you don't understand. For this dance, the girls have to ask the guys."
"Dangit, Bobby! Move!" Jamie said indignantly.
"Oh," John said flatly. He started to think that the dance didn't sound so bad, after all. He didn't have to do the hard part of actually asking the girl...
"Well uh...if someone asks, I guess I'll go."
"Move! You're crushing my leg!"
Bobby grinned. "We're wondering if Amara is gonna ask you. Or maybe Jubilee. Maybe even Rahne. But she's pretty hung up over Sam."
"What? Why? Why would they want to go with me?"
"Get--off--of--me--now, Bobby!"
He shrugged. "You're still the new guy, and they like that sort of thing."
John shook his head. "That makes no sense. And why wouldn't they ask you? Or one of the other guys? Last I checked, there were more of us than there were of them."
Bobby shrugged again. "Just wanted to see what you thought about it." He turned his attentions away from John to plant an elbow somewhere in Jamie's midsection. "Quit whining. I'm going now." He stood up and hopped back over the seat, ignoring Jamie's complaints.
John straightened his body back out and checked on Jamie. "You okay?" The boy nodded. "Couldn't he have asked us that from up there?"
"Heh. Yeah."
"It's just a stupid dance anyway... Who cares about them, right?"
John looked over at the younger mutant with a sideways glance. "I don't know... They aren't all bad... You'll understand when you're older."
It was John's turn to bear the wrath of the Jamie Glare of Doom (patent pending). "You think I don't like girls yet, dontcha?" He growled when John shrugged his shoulders apologetically. "Well, I do, but there aren't alot of people at my school, and even fewer pretty girls. I just don't let them get to me."
John shrugged again. He was pretty sure he had liked girls at Jamie's age, and was pretty positive that he once had the same mentality as him. Of course, that all changed once he passed to a bigger school.
Just let the boy wait until he hits middle school...
**********
"What was it like?"
Jamie had followed John back into his room, where they were trying to find something to do. That was until Jamie changed the subject, of course.
"What was what like?"
"You know...when you first found out you could do it..."
John rolled his eyes. "Jamie, are we going to have another one of these weird conversations again?"
Jamie laughed, remembering John's comparing his limb regeneration to...well, a bowel movement. He certainly hadn't forgotten that.
"No, I don't think so..."
"Oh, come on. Scared?" Jamie grinned at him. "Sorry. I shouldn't bring up your powers. I wouldn't want you to make a mess in your pants." He narrowly evaded John's half-hearted punch to the arm, and laughed at him.
John's face went dark, and his body quivered in rage, and he glowered at the boy.
I really, really, really wish I hadn't told him that...
"Awww, did I make poor widdle Gimpy get mad?" Jamie said in baby talk, the sarcasm just dripping from his lips. "I didn't mean to."
This time, he didn't quite manage dodge John's attack.
His shoulder clipped Jamie's side, but it was enough to knock him over. John took advantage of the situation, and pounced on the younger body, rolling him onto his stomach. He pulled Jamie's left arm around his back, like a police officer does when they're about to put handcuffs on someone. Pinning it down with a knee, he shifted until he was holding the boy with by the force of his body weight. To put it simply, he was kneeling on Jamie's back. John wrapped an arm around the multiplying mutant's only free arm, taking a tight grip where it met the shoulder, and started to pull back on it. It was something he had seen a wrestler do once.
"Ow ow ow ow ow ow! Lemme go!"
"Nuh-uh. Not yet. You gotta make a promise," John said through his bared teeth.
Jamie looked up and behind at John. "Sure! Anything! Just lemme go!"
"You don't make any more cracks about my powers like that! Got it?"
The younger mutant nodded quickly. "Okay! No more! No more!" He was practically begging for mercy.
"Good, cause if you do..." John didn't finish. Instead, he pulled on Jamie's arm, pulling the rest of the boy's upper body with him. Jamie yelped loudly before John let go, untwining their arms, and standing back up.
Helping him back up, John playfully nudged Jamie's shoulder. "You okay?"
"Will you teach me how to do that?"
John took half a step back, a little frightened by the boy's sudden burst of energy. "Uh...why?"
Jamie grinned wide, the corners of his mouth reaching up to his eyes. "No reason..." he said sweetly.
Eyeing the boy a little warily, he spoke cautiously. "Can't somebody around here teach you? Like Logan? I seen him do some of that sort of thing with Rogue."
Jamie shook his head. "He does it with Scott and Kurt and Evan, too. Sometimes Mr. McCoy. I asked him to teach me, but he said I was too little."
John found that hard to believe. Logan saying Jamie was too little? The gruff man seemed to not care about such things sometimes. "You mean the same Logan that lives here?"
The boy nodded.
"Really?"
"Really."
"But Logan had me doing one-armed push-ups on my second day here. You've been here months longer, and you're saying he won't teach you?"
"Nope. He won't," Jamie sighed.
"Well...alright. If he won't teach you, I will. Not like I got anything better to do."
"Cool! C'mon, show me now!"
John laughed. "Patience you must have, my young apprentice. Much to teach you, I have."
The boy looked at him a little dumbfounded. John rolled his eyes. That was the last time he tried to do a Yoda impression.
"Hey...how come you didn't multiply? You know, when I knocked you down?"
Jamie blinked for a second, before realizing that he didn't explode into a dozen copies of himself. He pointed to his watch that he hadn't taken off yet.
"Ah. Well... It's a good thing you still had it on, cause I might have ended up fighting you and the rest of the Irregulars." He used the impromptu name that he had christened his militaristic squad of arm-wielding Jamie clones. It made the younger boy grin. "I can fight one of you, but not all."
"Is that so...?"
Uh oh. I'm gonna regret saying that...
Jamie hit a button on the side of the watch and tossed it aside, and clapped his hands together, hard enough that John could almost hear the stinging. But pain aside, it achieved it's desired goal. John was now facing two Jamies.
"Uh oh..."
No one heard the words, not even John, as they were drowned out by the sounds of rapid clapping...
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Alright, so if you haven't figured it out by now, I'm going to take the episode 'Shadow Dance' and well...put my own little twist on it, notably by putting John in it, but you knew that already. Much thanks to Post, who gave me the awesome idea. Post, you doth kicketh much asseth.
Chapter 42
Author's Note: Stuff in italics are thoughts. You know that by now, I think.
Disclaimer: Don't own any of this - Marvel and Kid's WB do, except my original character, John. Oh, and I don't even know if this goes here, but if you don't like bad words, just...pretend they're something different.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
School ended as slowly and as dull as it had begun. The ride home was boring too, John and Jamie crammed in the back of the big van that drove him and the younger students around. Oh, of course they had to share the seat with a couple others, and at that particular moment in time, it was Sam and Ray, but the two were busy leaning forward to talk with Bobby and Roberto, who were happily engaged in either teasing or hitting on Amara, Jubilee, and Rahne. The trio seemed to take it all in stride, teasing and flirting in return. That was the typical routine of the ride home from school. As far as John could tell, it was always like that. He smiled on the inside, amused at how easily he had begun to fit into the routine, not just during the ride home, but of the Institute.
In all fairness, he actually had things pretty easy, especially when compared to the others. He still attended Danger Room sessions, but like Jamie, he spent most of his time in the control room, watching the others and learning the basic logistics of how it ran. He had been surprised to learn that Jamie could run the Danger Room so well, and he was probably the most skilled student in the mansion, just behind Scott (who, John noted, seemed to know everything, though how, he couldn't fathom). John would laugh, watching Jamie run such intense sessions for others, enough to keep them on their toes, but not to the point that it was endangering their lives, because the boy would do so with such a devilish grin on his face. He supposed it was the younger mutant's way of getting back at the others, who teased him because of his age.
His biological clock quickly adjusted to waking up early, and falling asleep early, and he took naps as often as he could. His body was getting used to fact that his physical activity had nearly quadrupled since he had come, but that he didn't mind. He was looking better, feeling better, and of course, all the exercising meant that he could check out Rogue when she was all hot and sweaty...
Jamie nudged John in the arm. "Did you hear what I just said?"
John blinked hard and looked down at the boy. "Sorry. I'm in my own little world. Mind saying it again?"
You mean your own little 'sexual fantasy' world?
Shut up.... And yes.
The boy opened his mouth, but never got a word out.
"You can bore him later, Jamie," Bobby said, jumping over the seat, and squirming himself in between the two J-named mutants. "So are you going to the dance?" he asked, poking John in the chest.
"Dance? What dance?" he replied, rubbing the area where he had been jabbed.
"The dance at the old folk's home, of course." Upon seeing John's confused look, the ice-making mutant rolled his eyes. "The Sadie Hawkins Dance...you know, at school..."
John shook his head. He knew nothing about a dance.
Maybe you should pay more attention in school, then.
Now why would I want to go and do that?
Hm. Good point. Hey, we finally found something we actually agree on!
John ignored the sheer absurdity of his last thought, and spoke before started to creep out Bobby with his sudden silence. Besides, the boy was digging into his hip, and the quicker he said something, the quicker he'd leave.
Then talk already!
Shut up.
"No...I didn't know about it. Besides, I don't think I'll go. Not like I have anyone to ask."
Bobby took on a strange, almost predatory, gleam in his eyes. "Oh, but you don't understand. For this dance, the girls have to ask the guys."
"Dangit, Bobby! Move!" Jamie said indignantly.
"Oh," John said flatly. He started to think that the dance didn't sound so bad, after all. He didn't have to do the hard part of actually asking the girl...
"Well uh...if someone asks, I guess I'll go."
"Move! You're crushing my leg!"
Bobby grinned. "We're wondering if Amara is gonna ask you. Or maybe Jubilee. Maybe even Rahne. But she's pretty hung up over Sam."
"What? Why? Why would they want to go with me?"
"Get--off--of--me--now, Bobby!"
He shrugged. "You're still the new guy, and they like that sort of thing."
John shook his head. "That makes no sense. And why wouldn't they ask you? Or one of the other guys? Last I checked, there were more of us than there were of them."
Bobby shrugged again. "Just wanted to see what you thought about it." He turned his attentions away from John to plant an elbow somewhere in Jamie's midsection. "Quit whining. I'm going now." He stood up and hopped back over the seat, ignoring Jamie's complaints.
John straightened his body back out and checked on Jamie. "You okay?" The boy nodded. "Couldn't he have asked us that from up there?"
"Heh. Yeah."
"It's just a stupid dance anyway... Who cares about them, right?"
John looked over at the younger mutant with a sideways glance. "I don't know... They aren't all bad... You'll understand when you're older."
It was John's turn to bear the wrath of the Jamie Glare of Doom (patent pending). "You think I don't like girls yet, dontcha?" He growled when John shrugged his shoulders apologetically. "Well, I do, but there aren't alot of people at my school, and even fewer pretty girls. I just don't let them get to me."
John shrugged again. He was pretty sure he had liked girls at Jamie's age, and was pretty positive that he once had the same mentality as him. Of course, that all changed once he passed to a bigger school.
Just let the boy wait until he hits middle school...
**********
"What was it like?"
Jamie had followed John back into his room, where they were trying to find something to do. That was until Jamie changed the subject, of course.
"What was what like?"
"You know...when you first found out you could do it..."
John rolled his eyes. "Jamie, are we going to have another one of these weird conversations again?"
Jamie laughed, remembering John's comparing his limb regeneration to...well, a bowel movement. He certainly hadn't forgotten that.
"No, I don't think so..."
"Oh, come on. Scared?" Jamie grinned at him. "Sorry. I shouldn't bring up your powers. I wouldn't want you to make a mess in your pants." He narrowly evaded John's half-hearted punch to the arm, and laughed at him.
John's face went dark, and his body quivered in rage, and he glowered at the boy.
I really, really, really wish I hadn't told him that...
"Awww, did I make poor widdle Gimpy get mad?" Jamie said in baby talk, the sarcasm just dripping from his lips. "I didn't mean to."
This time, he didn't quite manage dodge John's attack.
His shoulder clipped Jamie's side, but it was enough to knock him over. John took advantage of the situation, and pounced on the younger body, rolling him onto his stomach. He pulled Jamie's left arm around his back, like a police officer does when they're about to put handcuffs on someone. Pinning it down with a knee, he shifted until he was holding the boy with by the force of his body weight. To put it simply, he was kneeling on Jamie's back. John wrapped an arm around the multiplying mutant's only free arm, taking a tight grip where it met the shoulder, and started to pull back on it. It was something he had seen a wrestler do once.
"Ow ow ow ow ow ow! Lemme go!"
"Nuh-uh. Not yet. You gotta make a promise," John said through his bared teeth.
Jamie looked up and behind at John. "Sure! Anything! Just lemme go!"
"You don't make any more cracks about my powers like that! Got it?"
The younger mutant nodded quickly. "Okay! No more! No more!" He was practically begging for mercy.
"Good, cause if you do..." John didn't finish. Instead, he pulled on Jamie's arm, pulling the rest of the boy's upper body with him. Jamie yelped loudly before John let go, untwining their arms, and standing back up.
Helping him back up, John playfully nudged Jamie's shoulder. "You okay?"
"Will you teach me how to do that?"
John took half a step back, a little frightened by the boy's sudden burst of energy. "Uh...why?"
Jamie grinned wide, the corners of his mouth reaching up to his eyes. "No reason..." he said sweetly.
Eyeing the boy a little warily, he spoke cautiously. "Can't somebody around here teach you? Like Logan? I seen him do some of that sort of thing with Rogue."
Jamie shook his head. "He does it with Scott and Kurt and Evan, too. Sometimes Mr. McCoy. I asked him to teach me, but he said I was too little."
John found that hard to believe. Logan saying Jamie was too little? The gruff man seemed to not care about such things sometimes. "You mean the same Logan that lives here?"
The boy nodded.
"Really?"
"Really."
"But Logan had me doing one-armed push-ups on my second day here. You've been here months longer, and you're saying he won't teach you?"
"Nope. He won't," Jamie sighed.
"Well...alright. If he won't teach you, I will. Not like I got anything better to do."
"Cool! C'mon, show me now!"
John laughed. "Patience you must have, my young apprentice. Much to teach you, I have."
The boy looked at him a little dumbfounded. John rolled his eyes. That was the last time he tried to do a Yoda impression.
"Hey...how come you didn't multiply? You know, when I knocked you down?"
Jamie blinked for a second, before realizing that he didn't explode into a dozen copies of himself. He pointed to his watch that he hadn't taken off yet.
"Ah. Well... It's a good thing you still had it on, cause I might have ended up fighting you and the rest of the Irregulars." He used the impromptu name that he had christened his militaristic squad of arm-wielding Jamie clones. It made the younger boy grin. "I can fight one of you, but not all."
"Is that so...?"
Uh oh. I'm gonna regret saying that...
Jamie hit a button on the side of the watch and tossed it aside, and clapped his hands together, hard enough that John could almost hear the stinging. But pain aside, it achieved it's desired goal. John was now facing two Jamies.
"Uh oh..."
No one heard the words, not even John, as they were drowned out by the sounds of rapid clapping...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alright, so if you haven't figured it out by now, I'm going to take the episode 'Shadow Dance' and well...put my own little twist on it, notably by putting John in it, but you knew that already. Much thanks to Post, who gave me the awesome idea. Post, you doth kicketh much asseth.