*Chapter 4*
~Chicago~
DX-0 was teetering on the edge of boredom. He was always teetering on the edge of something because he could never quite feel anything anymore. He was never quite bored, on the edge of sadness, vaguely lonely, or mildly irritated, but that was as far as he got anymore. Then again he was never quite sure, maybe he had forgotten what it felt like so he wouldn't know if he was really feeling it or not but he did know one thing, he was dead tired.
The flight from Frankfurt to New York City had been the model of monotony. Nothing had happened during the flight, nothing exciting, nothing frightening, nothing at all. Normally this wouldn't have had any impact on him, but he was flying with Juli. She didn't bring a long enough book and she could not sleep on planes which was a problem. To ease her boredom she decided to torment DX-0. She would ramble on and on about meaningless things and just before he could slip off to sleep she would force him to answer some pointless question. This went on for the entire seven and a half hour flight and was further proof that life was indeed Hell.
Then when the plane finally landed in New York Juli got them lost while searching for his connecting flight to Chicago. Only a small miracle in the form of a flight attendant saved him from missing his plane. Juli saw him off at the gate as she was ordered to and then he was alone. The second flight was much shorter than the first and despite his exhaustion he couldn't sleep. The second plane ride was also as uneventful as the first which wore further on his sleep deprived brain. Now he sagged listlessly against a wall near his gate in this American airport struggling to stay awake for this American team to come and find him. Yes life was definitely Hell.
***
"Curse all the terrorists that it took to come up with all this security! Now we're going to be even more late picking this guy up!" Kitty cried in frustration. Life was really being mean to her lately. She'd forgotten to set her watch back an hour so she made them late getting to the airport. And now these security checks were slowing them down even more. Now they were over an hour behind and both in bad moods.
"Keep it down kid, someone might get the wrong idea and then we'll be delayed even more." Logan growled in warning.
"I know, sorry." Shadowcat grumbled. "I'm just pissed off by being so late is all." She mumbled apologetically. Logan only grunted in response as the pair rode the moving sidewalks towards the gates. How ironic, I'm all pissed off at being late to pick up a person I don't know and am not sure I want to meet. Someone up there must be laughing their ass off at me right now. She thought darkly. They were going to be working with a strange, possibly unstable, level 5 German Mutant on a risky, potentially dangerous operation, and they were late picking him up. This was not going to go well.
"At least it shouldn't be too hard to spot him." Kitty mumbled half to herself. And that was true, a level 5 Mutant could stand out in any crowd. Level 5's are rare Mutants indeed, not only are they powerful but they also look the least human of all Mutants. Take Dr. Henry McCoy for example. He has incredible strength, heightened senses, animal instincts, inhuman agility and reflexes, and a body that resembles a strange blue gorilla. But despite his bestial appearance Dr. McCoy is a highly intelligent individual that prefers teaching to fighting. Because of his compassion and teaching style he is one of Kitty's favorite teachers.
But this German Mutant was an unknown. It was highly unlikely that he was anything like Dr. McCoy in either personality or appearance. But at least they wouldn't have to worry about missing him. So they were confused when they arrived at the gate he was supposed to be at and see no sign of anyone unusual whatsoever. They saw groups of business men and women as well as tourists waiting for the next flight to board, but no one who looked like they could be even a level 1 Mutant was in sight.
"What the Hell." Logan swore. "Where is he?" He snarled scanning the area around the gate for the missing Mutant. He didn't see him. "Wait here Half-pint. I'll see if I can't track this guy down."
"Alright." Kitty agreed, heading towards the wall to wait. As she rummaged through her purse for a make-up mirror she noticed a young man standing a few feet to her left. He looked like death warmed over as he sagged limply against the wall, a duffle bag hanging loosely in his hand. His eyes were barely open and had dark circles forming under them. Did that guy get any sleep last night? Kitty wondered. She observed the worn out teen with mild interest. If he got some sleep and cleaned up a bit he just might be cute. She mused. But the way he wearily scanned the crowds made her wonder. Maybe...
***
DX-0 was seriously considering giving up on the Americans and going to sleep right here. His eyes ached and burned from lack of sleep and his vision was getting fuzzy. But before he could come to a decision someone decided to bother him.
"Hey, are you okay?" A concerned voice asked. At first he ignored whoever it was, but then he remembered that he was supposed to act 'normal' here, put on his little act and pretend to be alive on the inside. He turned and was confronted by a worried looking teenage girl. He blinked his eyes slowly as his foggy brain struggled to remember and understand what she'd just asked him. "Are you, like, deaf or something? I asked you if you were okay." She repeated, frowning in irritation.
"Ja, I am fine, just tired." He managed after a moment. His accent was thicker than normal due to his sleep deprived state which mangled his answer somewhat. She looked at him sharply with sudden interest.
"You're from Germany?" She asked hopefully.
"Ja." He replied flatly.
"Well I'm looking for someone from there, maybe you can help me out." The girl cheerfully suggested. DX-0 blinked drowsily, how the heck could she be so happy and energetic?
"Maybe." He replied.
"Great!" She exclaimed. "So did you see anyone weird around here?" She asked. Her blue eyes seemed to sparkle with their own sort of light and, for a minute, his half awake mind became distracted by them. "Hello, are you still awake or what?" She inquired waving a hand in front of his face.
"Not that I noticed." He said finally.
"Are you sure?" She pressed.
"Nein." He said.
"What do you mean 'no'?" The girl demanded.
"I did not pay much attention to the other people from the plane." He said simply. She gave him a dark look which he ignored.
"Some help you are!" She snapped in exasperation. "Now we'll never find this guy." She growled, turning away from him. "Stupid German government." The girl grumbled. DX-0 paused, did he hear her correctly?
"Who are you looking for exactly?" He asked, waking up a bit more.
"Funny thing is we don't even know his name. We just have some weird letter/number designation. Weird huh?" She snorted.
"What is it?" He asked.
"DX-0, pretty strange isn't it?" She replied. He stared at her until she shrank back from him a bit. "What's the matter?" She asked meekly.
"I am DX-0." He stated.
"No way." She replied incredulously. "This DX-0 person is a level 5, you look completely normal."
"Appearances can be deceiving." He responded.
"Are you a shape-shifter then?" The girl asked curiously.
"Nein." He replied flatly.
"Then how is it that you look like a normal human if you're a level 5?" She demanded.
"This is a hologram." He answered quietly. The teenager stared at him for several minutes before she hesitantly raised her hand. She reached forward and, before he realized what she was doing, brushed her fingertips against the side of his face. DX-0 stiffened in something akin to shock at her actions. If she wasn't who he thought she was then everything was over right now. She studied him a bit more before coming to some decision.
"Sorry about being late." She apologized. "Wait here for a minute while I get Mr. Logan so we can leave." DX-0 nodded and returned to what he had been doing before, mindlessly leaning against the blank airport wall. The girl had been gone a full minute before he realized something, she looked like she was younger than him. Did that mean she was just like him? Or did it mean something else entirely? Maybe it meant nothing at all. His numb mind slowly mulled over these various possibilities as he waited for the girl and this 'Mr. Logan'.
"Is this some kind of joke Half-pint?" A gruff voice growled. DX-0 wearily looked up to see a short and stocky man who didn't appear to be terribly happy.
"No, this isn't a joke, this is the guy!" The teenage girl protested. "Just touch his skin and you'll see." She whispered into the man's ear. Mr. Logan growled but he followed her suggestion and found she was right.
"So you're this DX-0 we're supposed to work with." The man growled; DX-0 tiredly nodded. "Well let's get your bags and get the Hell out of here." Mr. Logan grunted. DX-0 sluggishly moved to obey; tightening his grip on the duffle bag he pushed off the wall to follow his new team-mates to the baggage claim. His Government Issue luggage wasn't hard to spot and in less a half an hour they were in a black SUV on the way to DX-0's new 'home'.