Take the Long Way Home
Hello nice people! I'm going to do some review replies, then jump right into the action. *Shawn sticks his head in, puppy-dog eyes set on max beg* "What about us?!" You all have fight-scene training with Vegeta. *Vegeta's insane laughter is heard in the muse room* "We will have words about this later, mark my-URK!" Maria pulls him into the muse room by his collar. "C'mon you big baby, how bad could it be?" I better check up on them at the end of the fic. Now onto the replies!
L1701E- Noooot exactly, but closer than you know. Legendary Warrior, who gave me the idea, and I tweaked his background around a little. Well actually, LW tweaked the background; I just found a way to fit him into the story. And yes, those were Fingers and Polanski. The other Cavaliers won't make an appearance though, sorry.
marie lebeau-You'll find out about the cd in due time my friend. He did nothing! Didn't you hear what Maria threatened him with if he tried anything? Think about who seems to be fighting the creatures and you'll probably be able to figure out what they are. L1701E has already figured out most of it.
Naja-well I've got more sayings were those came from, mostly ripped off of other people. To find out about Kid Razor and Tusk, read L1701E's "Birth of a Juke Box Hero" and "The Power of Tusk". And what's this? So possessive all of a sudden.
AzureDragoness- What kind of a threat is that!
fluffy's numba 1 gal- Wrong on both counts! And I don't watch that much anime. I've only seen a couple of episodes of Inuyasha, but it was enough to give me a couple of ideas. And I don't think that .hack//sign will make any contributions to the plot of this story.
P.S.: I've had an idea for a new story jumping around in the back of my mind for a while, but I'm not sure if I should go with it or not. Tell me what you think. It'd be a Harry Potter story, post OotP, and would feature Shawn, though slightly modified, as an adult American wizard that Dumbledore asks to come to Hogwarts to provide extra security along with some… rather special friends that Shawn has. Your votes may decide whether this story sees the light of day.
Disclaimer: Say hello to my liddle friend!
"AAA"-talking
'AAA'-thought
AAA-telepathy
AAA-self debate, or conversation with feral side in Shawn and Rahne's case
Chapter 15- Awaken the Dragon
As the X-men and Kid Razor stared in shock at their three unexpected adversaries, Mozart slunk off into a shadowed alley. "If I expect to help those kids against those three, I'm gonna need to change my outfit." The darkness of the alley seemed to deepen until, had someone peered into the blackness, all they would have seen were his glowing amber eyes. A sudden wind seemed to kick up, bringing the scent of dust and sagebrush on it. Mozart's eyes seemed to move upward, until they were about five feet from the ground. "Much better," Mozart mused to himself as the shadows lightened to reveal his new form.
He was short, nearly a full inch and a half shorter than Wolverine. He had a mass of straight black hair, kept at bay with a headband. He wore what appeared to be buckskin leggings and a vest that exposed the chiseled muscle underneath. His nose appeared to have been broken, then reset, giving him a roguish air. On his feet he had a pair of moccasins and in his hands he clutched two small tomahawks, while a belt encircling his waist held several small pouches. Around his neck he wore a carved pendant of some sort of stone, carved into the shape of a coyote howling at the moon. Sounds of crashing from around the bank had him breaking into a run towards the building, still going as fast as his previous form. "Never fear the Coyote is here!" he crowed as he entered the fray. (AN: In his human form, Mozart calls himself Coyote.)
"It's about time you showed up," Tom yelled.
"Traffic was murder; oh, and good to see you too."
The crashing sound had been Tusk rushing at Razor. "Isn't that a little stale by now husky-tusky?" the rock-star catcalled as he somersaulted out if the way. He landed on top of a car and began to strum his guitar, energy gathering at its head. Sabretooth, leaped up behind him however, slicing through the air towards the rocker. Razor heard a distinct crackle of electricity as he dodged. "Whoa! This kitty seriously needs declawed!" To the others he called, "Watch it, he's packing electric claws!"
"Oh joy, one more thing to worry about," Coyote quipped, back flipping over another of Tusks charges. The mammoth mutant slammed into one of the cars around the bank tusks first. Rahne, who was behind the car, winced as his tusks easily tore through the engine block of the Dodge. He grinned at her.
"Hey puppy; lets find out what happens when titanium enhanced tusks meet a wolf with no armor whatsoever." Then Cannonball slammed into him, knocking him away from the lupimorph.
"Leave her alone!!!" he roared. He glanced over at Wolfsbane. "Yah okay?" he asked. She nodded and gave him the wolf's version of a shy smile.
Jean levitated into the air, lifting an abandoned car with her powers. "Catch!" she yelled, throwing it towards Juggernaut. He easily swatted it out of the air, reacting much faster than he had ever reacted before. "How?" she gasped.
"We all got little gifts from H.Y.D.R.A. in order to bag our prize, mine were enhancements to my armor that increased my reflexes," the unstoppable mutant grinned. He hefted two cars, one in either hand, and flung them at Jean. Maria tackled her out of the air before they could hit the telekinetic.
"H.Y.D.R.A.? Then that means…" Beast mused. He was hanging back from the fight, taking care of Scott. Tusk and Razor had put him through the wringer, and the teenaged leader was unconscious. Jubilee was also hanging back, thinking that her powers weren't useful in a fight like this. If she attempted to blind their opponents, she would blind her friends too.
Tom and Coyote had decided to double team Sabretooth. Tom had broken out his sais while Coyote distracted the feral mutant with his whirling blades and fancy footwork. He chuckled as he heard Razor remark, "Man; insurance rates in this part of town are gonna go through the roof!" as a large chunk of masonry was knocked out of the wall of one of the surrounding buildings.
While the two of them worked on Sabretooth, Draco was doing his best to keep Juggernaut at bay with fireballs, blinding the huge mutant with the fire and smoke, but he was tiring rapidly. "A little help here?!" he yelled as he stopped to catch his breath. Jubilee began to throw fireworks at Juggernaut's helmet, successfully blinding the behemoth. But he began to pick up large objects off the ground and throw them in random directions.
Coyote dodged in under a slash from Sabretooth, hacking at the undersides of the mutants palms. The blades of his tomahawks sliced through the wires that supplied electricity to his claws. The larger mutant snarled at the spirit, then felt someone tap him on the shoulder. He turned around to see Tom. "'Member me?" the martial artist waved. Then he punched Sabretooth full across his jaw. As he fell, Coyote pulled a handful of yellow powder out of one of his pouches. He threw the stuff into the feral's face. Sabretooth blinked for a moment, sneezed, and began to quiver. He turned tail and ran from the scene, screaming as if all the demons of hell were on his tail.
"Ya gotta love hallucinogens," the spirit smirked, carefully dusting off his hands
"Come back here you coward! They're only a couple of humans!" Tusk yelled. Tom and Coyote shared a grin.
"He don't know us vewy well; do he?" they chorused.
While the two of them caught their breath, Cannonball bashed into Tusk, knocking him off balance. Wolfsbane took this opportunity to latch onto the seat of his pants, and hung on with dogged persistence while the mammoth mutant danced around howling and screaming, as Razor set up for the final blow. He shifted his grip on his guitar as he leapt into the air. Rainbow colored energy gathered around it as he arced his body backwards. Jubilee stopped throwing fireworks as her eyes glazed while she watched. Wildcat stepped in front of her, and snapped her fingers in front of the girls face, attempting to snap her out of her hormone induced trance. Nether seemed to notice that Juggernaut had regained his senses and was advancing on them. Razor descended on Tusk as Wolfsbane let go. She shifted back to her human form, making a disgusted face. "YUCH! Tha lad needs a bath!"
"I could have told you that! Van Halen HAMMER!!!" Razor roared, bringing his guitar crashing down on Tusk's shaggy head. The mammoth mutant never knew what hit him. Razor hovered in midair, giving the rock on sign "WHOOO BABY, WHO DA MAN? WHO DA MAN? KID RAZOR DA MAN THAT'S WHO!" A sudden shriek of fury cut his celebrating off abruptly. Everyone turned, and Draco's expression turned to one of combined fury, and horror. Juggernaut was standing over a petrified Jubilee, a yowling, wildly flailing Wildcat clutched in one massive fist, grinning maniacally.
"Heh-heh, thanks to you X-morons, I got the package that I was sent to pick up. I suppose letting the little Asian brat live should repay the debt." He swiped at Jubilee with one meaty hand, sending her flying. Razor used his incredible reflexes to leap through the air.
"I got it, I got it!" When he caught the girl, he was thrown back into a wall. Coyote snickered.
"He got it alright."
As
the team attempted to regroup, Juggernaut turned around, intent on making his
escape. Only to find Shawn blocking his
way. "Get out of my way ya little
lizard!" Juggernaut snarled. Shawn
continued to stand there, head down with his hair obscuring his eyes.
"Shawn! Get out of there!" Tom yelled. Juggernaut raised a hand to smash the
insignificant insect in front of him, but frowned as Maria's struggles
increased tenfold.
"Now that won't do," he said in the tone of a reproving parent. He raised his other hand, and flicked the side of his captive's head with one huge finger. Maria slumped over in his fist, out cold. As the Juggernaut did this, Shawn raised his head to stare. Nearly everyone recoiled from the sight that greeted them. His eyes, which were usually a rusty brown color, were changing to the crimson of fresh blood. Kid? You aren't thinking what I think you're…Awwww hell, you're gonna let him out aren't you? Bahumut asked in a tone that said volumes. Just keep Jean outta my head, when we team up, I don't want her getting hurt Shawn growled back.
To Juggernaut, he snarled, "Let her go and I'll only rip ONE of your lungs out." The helmeted mutant smirked.
"And if I refuse?"
"Then hold your stinking breath!!"
"What's with him?" Razor asked. Jean raised her hands to her head, intent on picking out what was wrong with Shawn, besides the obvious, directly from his mind.
She gasped suddenly.
"I…I can't get into his mind! There's some sort of block there that I can't penetrate. It feels almost…alive!" When he heard this, Tom threw a pleading look to Coyote. The spirit nodded, which was followed by the yellow flashing of his eyes. After a second his eyes widened almost comically at the realization of what Shawn was doing.
"HIT THE DECK! INCOMINGGG!!!!" he yelled, tackling Tom behind one of the few still standing cars. Shawn's body began to give off a sort of silver aura as his eyes changed completely to crimson. He raised his head, opened his mouth, and ripped loose a roar of such primal rage, Juggernaut's grip on Maria slackened. It seemed to combine the howl of a wolf, the roar of a raging lion, and all the meanness of a pissed off male grizzly. The silver aura increased until it covered all of Shawn's body. Suddenly, a shockwave, emanating from Shawn's body, rippled through the air. As it went, it crumpled the pavement around the boy like paper. Razor put up his force field as it neared him, and the girl he still held in his arms. Jean put up her own field around the X-men. She seemed to strain as the wave battled against her mind. In the end, her field held, but it exhausted her completely. She crumpled to the pavement, her energy spent.
-Warehouse District-
As the man cleaned his sword off on the decapitated body of one of the shadowy beings, his head whipped up, and he seemed to be looking towards the bank. "Quite a bit of power coming from that direction" he mused in his monotone voice. He took a flying leap onto the roof of one of the warehouses. He then began to leap from rooftop to rooftop towards the bank.
-The Bank-
In the meantime, Shawn's form had begun to shift and change within the glow. Everyone heard the sounds of bones cracking and shifting; and the squishing sound of whole new groups of muscles being grown. All the while, his form was getting bigger and bigger. He suddenly stopped growing and glowing. The aura began to dissipate, until there was only the vaguest glow outlining him, and Razor let loose an impressed whistle. "There is a guy who has eaten a lot of beef."
Shawn was now about sixteen feet tall, with a wingspan that challenged that of a small, two passenger single engine airplane. His neck had lengthened to about four feet long, with five inch central spikes running the length of his entire spine; the outlying spines had lengthened to three inches. His head was completely transformed, nearly a foot and a half long, with a long, crocodilian snout, blunted at the end and packed to the brim with glistening, white, razor sharp fangs. His nostrils were now perched high on the end of his armored snout, with a six inch nose spike between them. His hair was gone entirely, with ridges of scales replacing his eyebrows. He had two horns that lay flush with his skull curling over towards the front of his head, with the points curling skywards just above his eye ridges. Behind him, his tail waved lashed the air, a full six feet in length. His hands now matched the size of the Juggernaut's, with three inch claws tipping every one of his fingers. Powerful legs rippled with muscles, while his feet had become three toed T-rex affairs, with one backwards claw at the back of his foot. His clothing had been completely destroyed by his transformation, but he didn't need to worry about modesty. A growth of scales had become something akin to what was worn around the waist by medieval knights; keeping him decent.
But the most frightening change however, was his eyes. They were a little smaller than tennis balls, with vertical pupils and completely crimson, but this wasn't the scary part. What scared the onlookers the most, with the exception of the fearless Kid Razor of course, was the pure undiluted hate pouring from them. It seemed to be millions of years of hate, all being directed at Juggernaut. For the first time since the emergence of his powers, the "Unstoppable Juggernaut" felt the first tiny trickle of fear. "Fifty on the dragon dude!" Razor yelled.
The strange man from the warehouse district, leapt to the roof of a building that provided him with the best view for the fight. He took in the scene with a calm gaze as he spoke softly to himself. "So…that is the source of the power. It seems to be human energy though. Strange; perhaps one of these 'mutants' that has caused such a disturbance in the human's small world."
Draco locked gazes with Juggernaut and began to move forward purposefully. The Juggernaut stood frozen, still a little stunned by this ferocious transformation. The dragon reached forward with one clawed hand, and deftly removed Maria from the now slightly smaller mutant's grip. He shifted her so she was being carried close to his chest, turned, stomped over towards Beast and laid the girl down gently next to Jean. He tenderly brushed a couple of loose stands of hair away from her face with the tip of one claw, then straightened and turned to face the Juggernaut. "Tell me why I shouldn't end your miserable existence right here and now?" he hissed. His voice had become a strange duet of his normal voice, and the voice that had rang out in his head that day at the café. His silver aura flared for a moment, then settled back to a low burn.
The Juggernaut started out of his trance as he realized that this, this child had just taken his meal ticket. "Why you little…!" He reared back, and planted a fist in Draco's chest. The dragon staggered backwards, then righted himself. Then he planted a fist in the Juggernaut's chest. The behemoth barely moved. "HAH HAH HAH, is that all you got you overgrown lizard? I'm gonna turn you into a set of luggage!" He began to swing again, but Draco caught his fist, the impact sounding like a gunshot. The Juggernaut's eyes widened, but narrowed as he swung his other fist. Draco caught that one as well, again with the cracking impact. He brought his face down level with the Juggernaut's helmet, opened his mouth, and let loose an avalanche of flames. Juggernaut pulled out of the dragon's grip with a cry, bringing his hands up to shield his eyes.
Back with the others, Rahne got to her feet determinedly. "We have tah help him!" she cried, beginning her transformation. Halfway through, though, Tom roughly grabbed her by the shoulder, shaking her roughly.
"Don't try and be a hero! Look at what you were gonna jump into the middle of!" He pointed to where the two behemoths were trampling everything in sigh as they exchanged blows. He turned back to the group. "Go out there, and either Juggernaut'll flatten you, or Shawn'll probably end up deep frying you either by accident or design." Beast frowned at the last part, looking up from were he was tending to Jubilee, Scott, Jean and Maria.
"What do you mean by that Mr. O'Reily?"
"The way Shawn's fighting, he's about as close to berserk as he's gonna get without actually being berserk. He might not notice that you're an ally and end up attacking you too. And with the way he's fighting, he might not make it through this thing either. If only there was a way to snap…him…" Tom stopped, and glanced at Coyote. "Music?" Coyote shrugged.
"Might work, but how do you propose to get him to listen to it? I kinda left my forty foot high concert speakers in my other breeches." Razor perked at the mention of music, and stuck his head into the discussing group.
"What's this about music? If its music you want, you're lookin' at the dude for the job." He strummed his guitar for emphasis. Coyote palmed his face.
"Oy vey," he muttered. He turned to the rocker. "Shawn was trained to combine music with martial arts. If we could get him to hear some music that he's used to fighting to, he'll probably stand a better chance against Jugger-DUCK!" The group ducked as a steel beam went flying over their heads. Everyone except Scott that is. The leader of the X-men had just gotten up, moaning and rubbing his head. The steel beam missed him, but caused a limb from the tree it slammed into to crash onto his head. He sank back to the pavement, a sick grin on his face.
"Okay, let the Kid see if he's got this straight. If he hears some music, he'll snap out of this berserker rage, and probably calm down enough to accept help?" Razor peered at the walkman on Tom's belt. "That got any classic rock on that thing?" he asked, pointing at the device. Tom nodded uncertainly, unsure about what exactly the rock n' roll hero was planning. Razor continued, "I can amplify music, but only classic rock. It won't work with heavy metal, rap or…" he shuddered, "country." He said the word like a curse. Coyote and Tom thought about what type of songs fit the description Razor had just described, the crashes of Shawn and Juggernaut grappling still in the background. Coyote looked up as one of the buildings surrounding the area collapsed. His eyes narrowed when a red-clad figure leapt from the collapsing building to the next building over. But he shrugged it off, and turned back to the group. He looked at Tom.
"How about number seven on this one?" he asked. He pulled out a blue cd from the cd case he had swiped from Tom's belt. Tom glanced at it then nodded. He popped the disk into the player, and handed it to Razor. Razor set it down on the ground, and began to strum his guitar. A beam of rainbow energy shot out of the head, and lanced down towards the player. As it made contact, the very air around them began to pulse to the rapid beat of some huge, unseen drum. Then Razor began to play his guitar along with the drum. Beast's face brightened; he recognized this intro! Then Razor opened his mouth and began to sing with the music. As he sang, the unconscious members of the team began to stir, as if the music was reenergizing them. All except for Scott, who seemed to scowl as he heard the song.
"I been working so hard
I'm punching my card
Eight hours, for what?
Oh, tell me what I got
I got this feeling
That time's just holding me down!
I'll hit the ceiling
Or else I'll tear up this town.
Tonight I gotta cut loose, footloose
Kick off your Sunday shoes
Please, Louise
Pull me offa my knees
Jack, get back
C'mon before we crack
Lose your blues
Everybody cut footloose." In the fight against Juggernaut, Shawn seemed to perk up a bit. Instead of taking the next punch that Juggernaut threw at him head on, he dodged to the side, attempting to trip up his opponent with his tail. Inside his head, Shawn was speaking with another presence.
Look, I released you on the condition that you wouldn't take over my body. You agreed to this. Are you going back on your word? The other presence seemed to shift guiltily within the shared mindscape.
I apologize; I did not mean to take total control. Let us work in tandem instead.
Alright guys, it's nice that you've both decided to trust each other. Now lets all show this guy that three minds are better than one! Bahumut cheered.
Smaug does not understand
We'll talk later, right now it's time to kick some ass! Shawn assured the other presence.
"I think its working! Keep going!" Coyote yelled over the music to Razor. The rocker nodded, jumping headlong into the next verse.
"You're playing so cool
Obeying every rule
But way down in your heart
You're yearning, burning for some
Somebody to tell you
That life ain't passing you by…" Razor ripped out a fast, hard hitting solo on his guitar. As he did, Shawn began to tailwhip Juggernaut, following it up with several swift kicks from his powerful hind legs. Then he leaned back, using his tail as a prop like a kangaroo, and kicked the Juggernaut in the chest with both feet. The behemoth went flying, landing among the bank rubble. Shawn paused for a minute, trying to make sure that the behemoth was down, but alas, it wasn't to end so soon. Juggernaut threw off the steel beams as if they were twigs, and rushed back to the fight, thirsty for blood.
"I'm trying to tell you
It will if you don't even try
You can fly if you'd only cut Loose, footloose
Kick off your Sunday shoes
Oowhee, Marie
Shake it, shake it for me
Whoa, Milo
C'mon, c'mon let's go
Lose your blues
Everybody cut footloose"
Tom picked up the next line of the song. "We got to turn it around!"
Followed by Coyote, "And put your feet on the ground!"
Even Shawn pitched in. "Now take a hold of your soul!"
All four – Whooooooooa…
Back to Razor – "I'm turning it
Loose, FOOTLOOSE
Kick off your Sunday shoes
Please, Louise
Pull me offa my knees
Jack, get back
C'mon before we crack
Lose your blues
Everybody cut footloose
Loose, FOOTLOOSE,
Please, Louise
Pull me offa my knees
Jack, get back
C'mon before we crack
Lose your blues
Kick off your Sunday shoes
Please, Louise
Pull me offa my knees
Jack, get back
C'mon before we crack
Lose your blues
Everybody cut, everybody cut,
Everybody cut, everybody cut,
Everybody cut, everybody cut,
EVERYBODY
Everybody cut FOOTLOOSE!" As the song ended, Shawn managed to knock the Juggernaut into an entanglement of steel beams. Maria had woken up by this point, and was staring in open awe at Shawn's new form. 'Is it hot in here or is it just him?' She asked herself. Jean, who had recovered enough energy to sit up, shot her a wry look.
Shawn turned and waved at the others. "I was gone for a little while, but I'm back now," he called. His voice still had that dual quality to it, but it was more Shawn's voice now than the other voice. Razor immediately launched himself into the air, and began to fire beams of rainbow energy at the Juggernaut. Shawn gestured to the others. "Keep him busy, I've got an idea." With that, he launched himself straight up into the air.
-On the Roof-
The stranger's eyes narrowed for a moment, then he nodded once. "Very smart, use the enemy's strength against him by using one of your own advantages."
-Back on the Ground-
"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Razor called. But Shawn had already disappeared into the clouds. Razor shrugged and fired off another beam of energy. "You heard the lizard, keep ugly busy." Coyote looked from Tusk, to Juggernaut, and back again. Then he looked at Tom, looking confused.
"Which one?" Tom laughed as he pulled a small marble sized orb off of his belt. He gauged the distance between himself and his target, and waited until he had a clear shot. He flung the orb at the Juggernaut, aiming for the broad expanse of his helmet. The marble landed near the back of his neck, bursting and releasing a bluish goop that began to hiss and eat through the helmet latch it had landed on.
Suddenly, everyone froze as a whistling sound made it self known. They all looked up, even Juggernaut. What they saw was a truly impressive sight. Shawn was shooting downwards head first, like a great gray arrowhead, straight for the combatants. The X-men scattered, but it was too late for Juggernaut. Seconds before he hit, Shawn flipped midair and slammed both taloned feet onto the Juggernaut's massive shoulders. The force of the hit, combined with his own prodigious weight drove the Juggernaut into the ground up to his thighs.
"Get his helmet off and I'll take care of the rest!" Jean shouted. The telepath had recovered enough energy that she felt up to using the mental attack that the professor had shown her after the last time they had faced the Juggernaut.
"Got it!" Shawn called. He turned and gripped the Juggernaut in a bear hug, struggling to keep his arms pinned. He arced his neck, and hooked his horns into the eye holes on the helmet. "Time to pop your top!" he grunted. He began to straighten his neck, hearing the latches creak in protest. The Juggernaut just laughed.
"Do you really think some punk with scales is enough to take down the unstoppable Juggernaut?" Shawn kept going, but Razor answered for him.
"Maybe not alone, but with the Kid of Rock on his side, he's definitely not gonna lose. SUPERSTAR SUPERKICK!" Razor raced towards the two, and leapt into the air. Rainbow colored energy gathered around his foot as he landed on one of the helmet buckles. It shattered under the assault of energy. Coyote leapt into action as well, his stone blades a blur as he hacked away at another buckle. It finally gave, snapping under the strain. With a final roar, Draco ripped the helmet away from the Juggernaut's head. Jean immediately clenched her teeth and sent a massive wave of mental energy through the Juggernaut's head. The behemoth struggled for a moment, then slumped in Shawn's arms. Razor looked curiously at the mutant that had caused them so much trouble.
"Damn his head is small," he cracked. Shawn flashed a toothy smile at the rocker. "Don't do that man, please." Shawn turned the smile into a tight-lipped grin. Beast walked up to his student, looking him up and down.
"Amazing! I must run an analysis on you when we return to the Institute. And I'm sure the Professor will be even more amazed at this form than I am." Tom tapped him on the shoulder, and pointed.
"He may already know. There are at least three news crews that have been covering the entire fight!" Indeed, there were two local news crews, and one national crew as well. Razor looked, then ran a hand through his hair.
"If you guys will excuse me, my public awaits." He back flipped into the air, and flew towards the crews. Hank sighed as they watched him go.
"I suppose it's better for all of us if he stays where he's most needed." He looked at Shawn, who was helping a shaky Maria to her feet. Sam and Rahne were trying to keep a starry-eyed Jubilee away from Razor.
"You alright?" Shawn asked, not bothering to hide the concern in his voice. Smaug's addition to his speaking voice was completely gone now, as was his aura. She nodded, touched by his gentle concern. He smiled. "Good, I take a little nappy now." With that he slumped facedown onto the ground. His form seemed to shift in and out of existence, before becoming his human form.
His nude human form.
"Hey Dr. McCoy, could you get a blanket or something from the jet?" Tom asked.
"Well, it could have been worse," Coyote said, "He could have landed on his back!" Maria was having a hard time tearing her eyes away from the incredible view she was getting. 'Damn he has a cute butt!' she thought. While the others were distracted, Coyote slunk away. A few moments later, they were rejoined by Mozart.
Up on the rooftop, the stranger processed what he had seen and heard in the last few moments. 'If this 'professor' is able to train a mere boy to be able to safely handle that kind of power, then he may be able to assist me with my, problem.' He turned, his trench coat billowing in the wind. "Perhaps I shall pay a visit to this 'Institute'."
---To Be Continued---
Ohhhh, who is this guy? What problem exactly does he have? We'll find out later. Next time: Shawn has a heart to heart with Smaug, while Bahumut is forced to take control of the body. We finally find out the origins of Bahumut! And how will everyone react when they find out that their friend isn't alone with his thoughts? Plus: what were the results of the Texas expedition? Find out next time but until then, Read & Review.
*Peers into the muse room. Shawn is in a full body cast, Draco is in a fetal position, sucking his thumb, and Maria is sitting in a corner, eyes closed, arms clasped around her legs, shaking.* "The horror, the horror." *Vegeta is leaning against one of the walls, scowling* How did the training go? *His scowl deepens* "These pitiful weaklings didn't even get past my first set of instructions!" *He snorts* "And I though I'd start with the easy stuff."