Take the Long Way Home
Here's the 3rd chapter, with action to spare. By the way, disregard the review count thing from the last chapter. Shawn walks in, the same stupid grin on his face as last chapter. Okay, I may regret asking this; but what the hell are you grinning about?! His response? "What a kisser." Rrrrrrrriiiiiigggghhhttt; anyway, on with the fic. And as a brother once said… "LLLEEEETTT'SSS GET RRRREADY TOO RUMBBLLLEEE"
P.S.: D-Ark of Spirit; I need a favor and from your bio, I think that you're the man for the job. I need a list of the non-original Evo mutant's names and code names; plus the name of the two dudes that work for H.Y.D.R.A., the red Russian dude and the fella with the sonic gun thingy and a brief description of their powers. I only caught a couple of episodes with the newer mutants so I don't know that much about them. About the only one that I know is Bobby/Iceman. So… help a brother out? Just submit it as a review if you decide too help; cause I don't check my e-mail that often. This is very important so please, please help me!!!
Disclaimer: I don't own X-men evolution, YET. But be assured Marvel, they will be MINE!!! BWAH-HA-HA-HA-HA!!! But Shawn O'Reily is mine, as will be his X-Men codename and Maria's as well. If you want to use him ask in a review or I will sick his alter ego, my muse, on you!!!
"AAA"-talking
'AAA'-thought
AAA-telepathy
AAA-self debate???
Chapter three-The Fight
Shawn woke from his nap to find three things; his tail was gone, his stuff was piled against the end of the bed with his staff leaning against the wall near the head of the bed, and a very nervous Maria was awake.
"What's wrong?" Her answer was in a slightly scared voice. "Why are did they bring me here? I don't understand why they helped me." This puzzled him to no end. "What are you talking about? Why wouldn't they? They look like nice enough folks to me." She remained silent. "This is one of those things that you don't want to talk about, isn't it?" She nodded. They were both silent for a moment. Shawn broke the silence, a determined look on his face, as if he was about to face an army. "So-o-o; what are you going to do now?" She wrinkled her forehead, as she thought about it; "Well I can't stay here; I know that much."
"Says who kid?" Wolverine clomped in, cowboy hat pushed back on his head. Maria's reaction was instant. "What do you want?" "A chance to let you have a real life; that's all," was the reply. She was obviously confused by the answer. Shawn saw this and pressed the point even further. "Look, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that you're being chased by someone or something. So why not stay someplace where others can give you a hand if you need it." She just shook her head and said; "After what I did here; no one in this building would be willing to help me. Ever!!"
Shawn got out of the bed and walked over to her. He appeared to have completely forgotten that his boxers had a hole near the base of his spine. He looked her straight in the eye, and seemed about to say something extremely profound. Then professor X. rolled in. "I was listening to your conversation; and I assure you; everyone here is quite willing to forgive and forget. I've explained the previous situation too them, and just about everyone agreed that they probably would have done the same thing in your place." Maria started to look stubborn; "Be that as it may, I'm still leaving."
"No you're not." This came from a very determined looking Shawn. His appearance was made all the more impressive by the horns that stuck out from the back of his head and the patches of scales on his face. Not to mention that his strangely colored pupils had changed from round to vertical, like a cat's. "I don't know what's chasing you but I'll be damned if you're gonna face it alone. And if you still have your heart set on leaving," he continued, as her expression went from shocked to some sort of unreadable expression, that made him slightly nervous. Ah young love, sighed the voice that seemed to live in his skull. Beat it man; I'm busy I can see that. Just don't do anything that's liable to get you neutered during the fight Shawn had a momentary vision of Maria hacking off his 'tail' because he'd accidentally bumped a 'Forbidden' area; and suppressed an involuntary shudder.
The entire mental conversation took less than a second and Shawn picked up the argument almost without missing a beat. But the professor noticed and thought back on what Shawn had said earlier: "I got enough trouble with just one voice in my head, ok?" Perhaps Shawn hadn't been joking when he had said that. For now he would watch and see what happened concerning this 'voice'; if necessary he would take action, but only when it was absolutely necessary. He turned his attention back to the conversation; Shawn was putting his plan into action.
"I tell you what. We'll have a little sparring match. I win; you stay. You win; you go. Sound good?" She thought it over. Do I really want to leave? Said one part of her. You have too; if you don't then you'll put innocent people at risk Said another part of her. Why not just accept his challenge? Questioned a third part; I can whip his cute butt and leave; easy as that. She looked up at the three faces looking at her expectantly. "Fine, I'll do it."
"Perfect!" Shawn gave the same goofy grin he had given her when he had said that she 'looked like a Maria'. "Three rules though;" He waited for her nod before continuing. "First; since my power comes and goes, and yours is practically uncontrollable, our powers will be allowed. Second; no going for serious injury; this is a sparring match, not a death match in the roman coliseum. Finally;" Now he gave her a sheepish look, "No hitting or kicking below the belt." Wolverine gave a nod at this one thinking: 'Pretty smart, that way she won't win right off the bat' "Now do we have a deal?" So saying, he stuck out his hand.
She paused for a moment; then reached out and grasped his hand; "Deal!" As they finished shaking hands, Shawn turned to the professor. "Do you have someplace where we could do this without potentially destroying any property?" Charles looked at Logan as he spoke. "The Danger Room?" Logan shrugged. "It's cleaned up enough, so why not?" "Danger room huh? Sounds like fun. It should work. Just give me five to get my gear together." "Very well then; Logan will show you where to go as soon as you're ready," the professor said as he wheeled out of the room. "Maria if you want you can come with me to the Danger room."
She hesitated for a second. Shawn smirked; "Unless of course; you want to stay and watch me get changed?" That sent her packing! Shawn sighed a little as the door slid shut behind her. 'Kid's got it bad,' Was Wolverines only thought. Shawn moved over to his duffel bags and began to root through them, muttering to himself all the while. "I know that I put them in here some…a-hah! Here they are!"
---Five minutes later---
Maria waited nervously at the door to the danger room. She knew that everyone would be watching this fight; seeing if she was worthy to be an X-man. But that wasn't what had her stomach churning; it was the thought of possibly losing it during the fight and seriously hurting Shawn. She definitely wanted to avoid that!
'But why do I want to avoid hurting him too badly?' Because you like him, that's why came the annoying voice of her sub-consciousness. Do not Do to Do not Do to Do not times infinity Do to times infinity plus one She just growled after that. Fine but you know that I'm right huffed her sub-consciousness; before going back to its rightful place at the back of her mind.
Padding footsteps in the corridor had her looking up from her revere. Shawn came into view, and once again his appearance was strange. But this time it was the clothes that he was wearing! He was wearing an orange baggy shirt with matching pants, held up by a blue strip of cloth that was wound around his waist in place of a belt. He also wore a blue undershirt that was showing at the neck. He also had a sort of rope sheath for his staff slung over his shoulders. The shirt and pants had strips of cloth wrapped around the ankles and wrists, about in the way that the strip of cloth was wound around his waist so that there were no cuffs to catch on rocks or other protrusions. Still no shoes though. And he had a CD player clipped to his waist!
(Author's Note: Sound familiar? If not, watch Dragonball or Dragonball Z)
He stopped about four feet from her and grinned. "Guess we wait for the doors, huh?" She merely nodded. "You know that I'm going to do my best to beat you, don't you?" "I'd think less of you if you didn't." She looked at him as if he were crazy. "I'll try not to hurt you; but I don't make any guarantees." He just flashed his trademark cocky grin at her. At that moment, the door's slid open with a gentle 'whoosh'. They nodded at each other and stepped through.
Shawn let out a low echoing whistle as they walked into the huge cylindrical room. A speaker crackled to life and Logan's voice crackled out. "Hey kids, any particular setting you'd want to fight in?" Shawn looked at Maria, who shook her head no. He thought for a minute then shouted; "How about a simple clearing? But give the fight the WWF starting call."
Up in the control booth, just about everybody looked a little confused. Then Bobby snapped his fingers. "I know what he's talking about! Professor! Can I use the voice synthesizer after Beast puts up the hologram?" The professor looked doubtful for a moment, then sighed; "I suppose. Just don't damage it, all right?" "Fine; I won't."
As they stopped in the center off the room, their surroundings seemed to shimmer, before it reformed into a pristine forest clearing. Then a deep voice boomed over the speaker. "Aaaaaannnnnddddd now, ladies and gentlemen, the maaain event! LLLEEEETTT'SSS GET RRRREADY TO RUMBBLLLEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Up in the control room, everybody was looking at Bobby like he was nuts. He looked around; "What?"
Scott and Jean just shook their heads, Rouge rolled her eyes and the rest of the girls in the room just giggled. The guys on the other hand were giving him a look that said "Oooookaaaayyy". The instructors just ignored him, focusing on the impending battle below.
Back on the ground, the two combatants began to circle each other on silent feet. One of Shawn's hands made a move and Maria tracked his hand, while still circling. But instead of beginning an attack, he just hit the play button on his CD player! Immediately, a kind of crackle sounded from his headphones, followed by a slow rich voice singing about a cold November wind in Okalahoma. This confused her 'how will listening too a slow long help him fight?' Wasting no more time in thought, she rushed forward in an attempt too end the fight right there. But as she swung for a cross chop to his face, the music's beat picked up, and so did his reflexes! (A.N.-for the curious the song he's got on right now is Toby Keith's "Good to go to Mexico") So instead of landing a solid blow to his face, he jerked back and let her hand slice through empty air. Then he launched his counter attack; four swift punches to her ribcage followed by a leg sweep.
She took the punches, but jumped over his leg sweep. He turned it into a sideways roll and got out reach of her fist and claws before she had a chance to strike. He misjudged her reaction time however and met a spinning heel kick to the stomach as he came out the roll. His breath whooshed out in a "Whoof" but he kept going. Thus began an intricate dance of punches, kicks, and blocks, neither landing a hit on the other. However, a lucky kick from her sent his CD player flying from his waist, taking the headphones for the ride. This was extremely fortunate for her, because each time the songs had changed, so had his fighting rhythm. This meant he was now staying at the same pace instead of flying all over the place, making it easier for her to gauge his movements.
Up in the control room, everyone was watching with rapt attention. Logan however, had a small frown as he watched. Scott noticed this and spoke up, "What's wrong Wolverine?" The mutant in question turned to regard the junior commander of the X-men, "Nothin, Cyclops its just that the new kids style of fighting looks kinda familiar, that's all. But I can't remember where I've seen it before." He paused and looked out at the fight in progress. "Uh-oh; looks like they're staring to get serious now."
Back in the fight both combatants had realized that they weren't accomplishing anything. They broke apart and stood there trying to catch their breaths. Shawn gave a smirk, "Pretty good, for a girl." Maria's eyes blazed for a moment before an answering smirk spread across her face, "Pretty good, for a boy" she tossed back. Shawn lost the grin, reaching up and pulling his staff from its rope sheath. It was a six foot long ninjitsu staff known as a Bo. "Time to take it up a notch." Maria extended her claws, "Funny I was thinking the same thing."
Maria dashed forward in a repeat of her opening attack, but this time it could have been deadly. But Shawn simply swung his Bo up into a block. Maria's eyes widened as the staff merely sparked under her claws instead of shearing right through it. Shawn gave a grunt as he pushed her weight off of him and assumed a defensive position, Bo held at his side, tipped towards the ground, tensed and ready for the next strike.
Up in the control room, complete and utter astonishment seemed to be the order of the day. Bobby kept repeating "No Way!" in a broken voice, while most everyone else was trying to scrape their jaws off of the floor. The only ones who didn't seem shocked were Wolverine and the Professor. Xavier had steepled his hands going into thought once again, and Wolverine had narrowed his eyes, a single thought running through his mind 'I've seen his style of staff fighting before too, I just wish I could remember where!'
Maria and Shawn stood about seven feet from each other; waiting for their opponent to make the first move. After a moment, Shawn gave a small grunt as a familiar ripping sound filled the air. A long scaly tail now waved through the air behind him. Maria dashed forward once more 'Hit him while he's off balance, and end this!!' was the only thought on her mind.
She gave a yell as she attempted a flying swipe at his staff. She knew this would allow her too knock him off his feet, and the she could pin him for the victory. That; was a fatal mistake. Almost quicker than the eye could follow, his tail cracked forward like a whip and curled around both her wrists, holding them above her head. She extended her foot claws, but he pulled something that she was sure was illegal in every known state. He seemed to give a sharp pull on the ends of his staff, while twisting slightly. The ends of the staff came off; still connected by a short chain. His staff was now three pieces of metal; a foot and a half on the ends, three feet long in the center. He proceded to whip this around her ankles and effectively stop any and all hopes of getting out of this; she was trapped!
He gave her a purely male look of smugness; and uttered two word that had her delivering a blistering oath that was probably capable of peeling the paint off of a two story house from half a mile away; "I. Win."
Up in the control room, the professor was deep in thought as money exchanged hands. Maria had been the favorite to win, but Bobby had given ten to one odds on the new dude. He was now collecting money from a disgusted looking Scott; while Jean handed over a twenty to Amara. 'It appears that this new fellow is quite quick on his feet; both mentally and physically.' He looked over at Wolverine whose eyes were still narrowed in thought. "Is something the matter Logan?" The feral X-man shook his head. "Naw, just this nagging feeling that I've seen his style of martial arts before." "Very well then, let's all go down and welcome our two newest members; after Bobby finishes his 'underground' transactions."
At the word 'underground' Wolverines eyes lit up. "That's it" he said, smacking his palm with his fist. All eyes turned towards him. "What's it?" asked a puzzled looking Kitty. "I finally remembered where I've seen his style of fighting; at an underground tournament I went too about a year ago. That kid was fight in it. I remember the nickname he went by too; 'the Merciful Dragon'. He never hurt his opponents more than he had to but always won. I heard a rumor that his uncle had taken him in and trained him after his parents died. Who'd a thought he was a mutant?"
Just about everyone was staring at him by this time. A small cough from the door had all heads turning. Shawn and Maria were standing in the door, an embarrassed look on his face a shocked look on hers. The Professor was the first to break the silence. Wheeling forward, he held out his hand, and said; "Welcome to the X-men, both of you."
Well, there's the third chapter. Next time, Shawn meets up with a certain Cajun card player and short tempered walking earthquake. See ya then!!
Also tell me who you think Shawn and Maria should room with. And remember absolutely NO co-ed roomies at the Institute. And as always; read and review!