Aftershock
Summary and Disclaimer: See Chapter One
Author's Notes: Finally, what so many reviewers have been waiting and hoping for. The first appearance of St. John Allerdyce, as well as most all of the other teenage (in movieverse) mutants that will be associating with Jake.
Enjoy! R&R!
Reviewer shout outs:
Wy Wy: What's wrong with my Punctuation, punk? I'll beat you up! *grrs*
Kerty: You get your wish in this chapter. I hope you like how I portray him.
Kasha: Well, the original idea was to have her leg shatter from hip to ankle, but that would take too long to heal, so... This is what we get
Loony: I'm glad you're so pleased with the story! Keep on reviewing!
Dark Angel: Here you go. John.
Rei.K: John is RIGHT HERE. Just read ;)
Kumiko Eharu: Fanks much. I hope you like this chapter just as much.
Chapter Three:
Jake grimaced as she placed her weight on her right leg. But a grin fought its way through the pain.
Two weeks ago, she couldn't even hold her weight on the bowed bones of her right leg.
The physical therapy was certainly coming along, as was her disjointed memory, slowly but surely it was piecing itself together.
She was Jake Smith. She was sixteen years old. She was a mutant, with some sort of power over electricity. She had been in a horrible car crash which had left her half crippled.
The question she didn't have an answer too was why she had been driving through the thick rain that night, at deadly speeds no less.
She had the who, the what, the when, even the where. But the why of her history continued to elude the futile grasp of her mind, even through two weeks of intense physical and psychological therapy.
So here she was, slowly but surely rising to her feet until she was standing as straight as it was possible.
"Excellent." Jean said. "Now..." She grabbed a hold of the cane leaning against the table, and offered it to Jake.
"Let's see you walk."
Jake sighed at this, but she steeled herself. Using the cane in unison with her right leg, she moved slowly, leaning more of her weight on the cane than on her distrustful leg.
Soon she became increasingly comfortable with this way of movement, and lapped the lab twice.
"Excellent." Jean repeated. "You are quite amazing, Jake." Jake smiled in response.
"You really think so?"
"Oh, definitely. Now... What do you say to getting properly dressed and taking your first walk around the mansion?" Jake considered.
"Sure!"
~~~
Jake stood nervously in the doorway to one of the many recreation rooms spread throughout the mansion. Jean stood behind her, a smile playing on her lips and a reassuring hand on Jake's shoulder.
"Go on." She whispered.
"I can't." was the whispered reply.
"Why not? They don't bite."
"I... I'm not very social. I don't know what to say."
"Too late..." Jean trailed off as three people about Jake's age approached the door.
"H- h- hi." Jake stuttered, and mentally smacked herself for sounding so stupid. Her hand absently brushed against her right cheek and she grimaced slightly as she felt the flaw in her skin.
"Hi." The other girl smiled kindly. "I'm Marie." She held out her hand, and Jake shook it briskly.
"I'm Jake." She said. As they shook hands, Jake noticed that the girl's hands were gloved despite the warmth of the mansion.
"Very nice to meet you." Jake heard a slight drawl to Marie's voice, perhaps southern. It sounded out of place this far North.
"This is Bobby Drake," Marie motioned towards the shorter, lighter haired boy, "And John Allerdyce." The other boy, tall and brunette. Bobby offered his hand in greeting, but John just turned slightly and leaned against the wall, resolutely flicking the lip to a Zippo Lighter. Open, closed. Open, closed.
Jake shook her head and took Bobby's hand. A chill swept up her arm and into her body as if she had been plunged into a tank of ice.
She shivered, but smiled it off.
"You want to join us? We were just about to start a new game." Marie motioned towards the pool table.
"I'd rather just watch if that's okay."
"Of course."
The three returned to the pool table, and Jake followed, self consciously feeling as if everyone was staring straight at her, and her unusual walking pattern, or the ridges on her face, or both.
By the time she made it to the pool table, her heart was pounding.
She looked around, under the pretense of being inquisitive, but she was really making sure no one was staring at her. Only one person, the boy called John. He was now against the wall behind the pool table, still flicking his lighter.
Never lighting it, just flipping the lid open, then snapping it shut with a simple flick of his wrist.
Marie and Bobby chalked up their cues, and were soon in a not-quite- competitive game. John, however, wasn't participating in any way. Just watching Jake.
Finally, he spoke. His voice was far from obnoxious as she had assumed, but rather soft and soothing, but still strong, and Jake could sense a touch of defensive undertones. All this from five words.
"So... What can you do?" She eyed him, wondering what on earth he was talking about.
"Hello?" He waved a hand in front of her face, and she shook her head to clear it.
"Huh?"
"I said, What- can- you- do?" He said slowly, with a pause between words as if speaking to a simpleton.
She stared at him a while longer before he sighed exasperatedly.
"Your power! What is your power? You are a Mutant? What is your power?" He exploded.
"Oh!" She mentally slapped herself again for being so dense. "I... Well, I don't know if they have a name for what I do... I can... Er..." She was now mentally pounding her head against the wall. How could she sound so stupid?
"ELECTRICITY!" She finally blurted out. "I can control electricity."
"Sort of." She added, but only to herself.
"Oh! Well, why didn't you just say so?" he said with a light chuckle.
She crossed her arms angrily and pouted.
"What about you? What do you do?" He smiled mischievously, and flicked open his lighter again, this time actually igniting the flame. He moved his fingers over the flame, and it stuck to the fingertip, pulling away from the lighter until it was perched in his open palm.
"I'm pyrokinetic. I control fire."
"Well yippy skip and Yay for you." She said, heavy sarcasm, dripping from every syllable. He smirked, and she scowled in response.
Their banter was interrupted by a rude giggle. She turned her head to see Bobby and Marie holding back laughs as well as two other girls who had just arrived.
"What?" She and John said simultaneously. Both sounded relatively angry.
"You two are so cute!" the taller girl stated. She was dressed in bright colors with large hoop earrings. Jake narrowed her eyes angrily. If this John was 'cute', she didn't want anything to do with it. "Yeah, it looks as if Saint John Allerdyce finally met his soul mate. The only female on planet who can be just as surly as him." The other girl said. She was shorter, with light brown hair.
"Met my SOULMATE?"
"SAINT John?"
Everyone smiled at these two statements, and they all refused to reply to either of the inquires.
Instead, Marie introduced the two newcomers. "This is Kitty Pryde," The shorter girl, "and Jubilation Lee."
"I see." Jake said. She offered her hand, and both shook them with kind smiles.
"Jake, huh?"
She turned to see someone looking her direction from the doorway.
He was quite tall, and had glasses so shining red they were nearly opaque covering his eyes.
She nodded, and he smiled.
"The professor wants to see you."
"Um... Yeah, sure, of course..." She looked around blankly for a moment, then turned back towards the person who had summoned her.
"Where might he be?"
"I'll take you."
"Okay... Bye guys, nice meeting you and what not," She directed towards her peers, and then turned to leave with the man she recognized as Scott Summers.
Jean liked him. A lot.
Amazing the things one learns when cooped up in that lab with Jean being the only regular company she had had.
As they left the room, she heard the others making fun of John.
The plus to this was that they weren't making fun of her. She smiled at the thought. It seemed as if they accepted her as one of them. It was a good feeling.
"So, how does it feel to be up and about, Jake?" Scott asked amicably.
"Different. But somehow comforting."
"I'm sure."
"What exactly does the professor want to see me about? I haven't been up nearly long enough to get into trouble, have I?" Scott laughed at this.
"No. He just wants to welcome you."
"Ah." She replied while wishing desperately for something more interesting to say.
Luckily, they didn't have the time to say much else before school stopped.
"Here it is." She nodded, and smiled in thanks. He nodded curtly in acknowledgement, then turned to leave.
She steeled herself and knocked on the heavy wooden door.
"Come in." His voice was rich and resonated England. Jake mat met him before, but they hadn't exchanged many words. He had reassured her that they would sit down to talk later, but insisted that she get better first.
Now that she was on her feet, he obviously thought it was time to get to know his newest student.
She slowly opened the door, and stepped inside his office, closing the door after herself.
"Ah, Jake. Come in, Take a seat."
Pages: 6
Words: 1633
Characters (without spaces: 7499
Characters (with spaces): 9101
Paragraphs: 105
Lines: 300
Authors Notes: Hope you enjoyed. Keep reading and reviewing!
-The One and Only Trey
Summary and Disclaimer: See Chapter One
Author's Notes: Finally, what so many reviewers have been waiting and hoping for. The first appearance of St. John Allerdyce, as well as most all of the other teenage (in movieverse) mutants that will be associating with Jake.
Enjoy! R&R!
Reviewer shout outs:
Wy Wy: What's wrong with my Punctuation, punk? I'll beat you up! *grrs*
Kerty: You get your wish in this chapter. I hope you like how I portray him.
Kasha: Well, the original idea was to have her leg shatter from hip to ankle, but that would take too long to heal, so... This is what we get
Loony: I'm glad you're so pleased with the story! Keep on reviewing!
Dark Angel: Here you go. John.
Rei.K: John is RIGHT HERE. Just read ;)
Kumiko Eharu: Fanks much. I hope you like this chapter just as much.
Chapter Three:
Jake grimaced as she placed her weight on her right leg. But a grin fought its way through the pain.
Two weeks ago, she couldn't even hold her weight on the bowed bones of her right leg.
The physical therapy was certainly coming along, as was her disjointed memory, slowly but surely it was piecing itself together.
She was Jake Smith. She was sixteen years old. She was a mutant, with some sort of power over electricity. She had been in a horrible car crash which had left her half crippled.
The question she didn't have an answer too was why she had been driving through the thick rain that night, at deadly speeds no less.
She had the who, the what, the when, even the where. But the why of her history continued to elude the futile grasp of her mind, even through two weeks of intense physical and psychological therapy.
So here she was, slowly but surely rising to her feet until she was standing as straight as it was possible.
"Excellent." Jean said. "Now..." She grabbed a hold of the cane leaning against the table, and offered it to Jake.
"Let's see you walk."
Jake sighed at this, but she steeled herself. Using the cane in unison with her right leg, she moved slowly, leaning more of her weight on the cane than on her distrustful leg.
Soon she became increasingly comfortable with this way of movement, and lapped the lab twice.
"Excellent." Jean repeated. "You are quite amazing, Jake." Jake smiled in response.
"You really think so?"
"Oh, definitely. Now... What do you say to getting properly dressed and taking your first walk around the mansion?" Jake considered.
"Sure!"
~~~
Jake stood nervously in the doorway to one of the many recreation rooms spread throughout the mansion. Jean stood behind her, a smile playing on her lips and a reassuring hand on Jake's shoulder.
"Go on." She whispered.
"I can't." was the whispered reply.
"Why not? They don't bite."
"I... I'm not very social. I don't know what to say."
"Too late..." Jean trailed off as three people about Jake's age approached the door.
"H- h- hi." Jake stuttered, and mentally smacked herself for sounding so stupid. Her hand absently brushed against her right cheek and she grimaced slightly as she felt the flaw in her skin.
"Hi." The other girl smiled kindly. "I'm Marie." She held out her hand, and Jake shook it briskly.
"I'm Jake." She said. As they shook hands, Jake noticed that the girl's hands were gloved despite the warmth of the mansion.
"Very nice to meet you." Jake heard a slight drawl to Marie's voice, perhaps southern. It sounded out of place this far North.
"This is Bobby Drake," Marie motioned towards the shorter, lighter haired boy, "And John Allerdyce." The other boy, tall and brunette. Bobby offered his hand in greeting, but John just turned slightly and leaned against the wall, resolutely flicking the lip to a Zippo Lighter. Open, closed. Open, closed.
Jake shook her head and took Bobby's hand. A chill swept up her arm and into her body as if she had been plunged into a tank of ice.
She shivered, but smiled it off.
"You want to join us? We were just about to start a new game." Marie motioned towards the pool table.
"I'd rather just watch if that's okay."
"Of course."
The three returned to the pool table, and Jake followed, self consciously feeling as if everyone was staring straight at her, and her unusual walking pattern, or the ridges on her face, or both.
By the time she made it to the pool table, her heart was pounding.
She looked around, under the pretense of being inquisitive, but she was really making sure no one was staring at her. Only one person, the boy called John. He was now against the wall behind the pool table, still flicking his lighter.
Never lighting it, just flipping the lid open, then snapping it shut with a simple flick of his wrist.
Marie and Bobby chalked up their cues, and were soon in a not-quite- competitive game. John, however, wasn't participating in any way. Just watching Jake.
Finally, he spoke. His voice was far from obnoxious as she had assumed, but rather soft and soothing, but still strong, and Jake could sense a touch of defensive undertones. All this from five words.
"So... What can you do?" She eyed him, wondering what on earth he was talking about.
"Hello?" He waved a hand in front of her face, and she shook her head to clear it.
"Huh?"
"I said, What- can- you- do?" He said slowly, with a pause between words as if speaking to a simpleton.
She stared at him a while longer before he sighed exasperatedly.
"Your power! What is your power? You are a Mutant? What is your power?" He exploded.
"Oh!" She mentally slapped herself again for being so dense. "I... Well, I don't know if they have a name for what I do... I can... Er..." She was now mentally pounding her head against the wall. How could she sound so stupid?
"ELECTRICITY!" She finally blurted out. "I can control electricity."
"Sort of." She added, but only to herself.
"Oh! Well, why didn't you just say so?" he said with a light chuckle.
She crossed her arms angrily and pouted.
"What about you? What do you do?" He smiled mischievously, and flicked open his lighter again, this time actually igniting the flame. He moved his fingers over the flame, and it stuck to the fingertip, pulling away from the lighter until it was perched in his open palm.
"I'm pyrokinetic. I control fire."
"Well yippy skip and Yay for you." She said, heavy sarcasm, dripping from every syllable. He smirked, and she scowled in response.
Their banter was interrupted by a rude giggle. She turned her head to see Bobby and Marie holding back laughs as well as two other girls who had just arrived.
"What?" She and John said simultaneously. Both sounded relatively angry.
"You two are so cute!" the taller girl stated. She was dressed in bright colors with large hoop earrings. Jake narrowed her eyes angrily. If this John was 'cute', she didn't want anything to do with it. "Yeah, it looks as if Saint John Allerdyce finally met his soul mate. The only female on planet who can be just as surly as him." The other girl said. She was shorter, with light brown hair.
"Met my SOULMATE?"
"SAINT John?"
Everyone smiled at these two statements, and they all refused to reply to either of the inquires.
Instead, Marie introduced the two newcomers. "This is Kitty Pryde," The shorter girl, "and Jubilation Lee."
"I see." Jake said. She offered her hand, and both shook them with kind smiles.
"Jake, huh?"
She turned to see someone looking her direction from the doorway.
He was quite tall, and had glasses so shining red they were nearly opaque covering his eyes.
She nodded, and he smiled.
"The professor wants to see you."
"Um... Yeah, sure, of course..." She looked around blankly for a moment, then turned back towards the person who had summoned her.
"Where might he be?"
"I'll take you."
"Okay... Bye guys, nice meeting you and what not," She directed towards her peers, and then turned to leave with the man she recognized as Scott Summers.
Jean liked him. A lot.
Amazing the things one learns when cooped up in that lab with Jean being the only regular company she had had.
As they left the room, she heard the others making fun of John.
The plus to this was that they weren't making fun of her. She smiled at the thought. It seemed as if they accepted her as one of them. It was a good feeling.
"So, how does it feel to be up and about, Jake?" Scott asked amicably.
"Different. But somehow comforting."
"I'm sure."
"What exactly does the professor want to see me about? I haven't been up nearly long enough to get into trouble, have I?" Scott laughed at this.
"No. He just wants to welcome you."
"Ah." She replied while wishing desperately for something more interesting to say.
Luckily, they didn't have the time to say much else before school stopped.
"Here it is." She nodded, and smiled in thanks. He nodded curtly in acknowledgement, then turned to leave.
She steeled herself and knocked on the heavy wooden door.
"Come in." His voice was rich and resonated England. Jake mat met him before, but they hadn't exchanged many words. He had reassured her that they would sit down to talk later, but insisted that she get better first.
Now that she was on her feet, he obviously thought it was time to get to know his newest student.
She slowly opened the door, and stepped inside his office, closing the door after herself.
"Ah, Jake. Come in, Take a seat."
Pages: 6
Words: 1633
Characters (without spaces: 7499
Characters (with spaces): 9101
Paragraphs: 105
Lines: 300
Authors Notes: Hope you enjoyed. Keep reading and reviewing!
-The One and Only Trey