Take the Long Way Home
OVER ONE HUNDRED REVIEWS! WHOOOOOO BABY!!!! *I start doing a happy dance* YOU LIKE ME, YOU REALLY LIKE ME! *Vegeta walks in, Draco on his heels* "What are you doing, you pathetic excuse for a male member of the species?" *Draco takes a look at my computer screen* "He's got over one hundred reviews now. Let the guy celebrate already." *I ignore my two muses, and continue to make a complete and total fool of myself*
AzureDragoness-You can come down now. *Points to where Vegeta has captured Maria in energy rings.* But I wouldn't recommend doing that again unless you have a serious death wish! And to be perfectly honest, I don't know how I write fight scenes either. I just seem to slip into this kinda trance and the scenes usually write themselves. This makes for less stress on my weak brain, and usually I come up with fights that most people seem to like. Works out for everyone, doesn't it?
Warconq- thanks I guess I do have a knack for making things funny.
Fluffy Kitsune- Thanks, I am kind of an anime fan, I guess, but where did you see Kenshin references? And sure you can be my friend! The more the merrier! ^_^
Legendary Warrior-Thanks buddy! Those are words to live by.
Animeluvr1-Well see, therein lies the difference. This HP fic would be my second fic. Yes, my puns are bad, but I manage to come up with a gem every now and then. Besides, that wasn't even supposed to be a pun. Yes, that Smaug. I was running out of good original names, so I decided to borrow; sue me already! There's a reason he didn't break his wings, read on to discover it. Besides, he weighs a ton and a half. And here it is, you wanted Rick, you got Rick
Naja-I may make a side story to explain it, or incorporate it into the main story; I'll have to think on it though.
marie lebeau-soon all will be made clear my friend. Personally I think that Shawn's fully transformed state is one of my greatest achievements to date. And I tossed in that last part at the end in for all the lady readers ;)
"AAA"-talking
'AAA'-thought
AAA-telepathy
AAA-self debate, or conversation with feral side in Shawn and Rahne's case
Disclaimer-This is your last warning, put the squirrel down and no one gets hurt!
Chapter 16-Origins Revealed, and a New Friend Made
"I still think that that whole 'I'm not a mutant, I'm the magical personification of the power of rock n' roll' thing was just an excuse to keep from being exposed as a mutant." Scott scowled. The team was back in the X-jet heading home. Shawn was sleeping peacefully in one of the chairs, securely covered with a blanket. He had woken up long enough to slip into one of the spare uniforms in the jet, and had fallen right back asleep. Beast was flying, while Jean, Jubilee and Scott recovered from their injuries. Rahne and Sam, who were practically untouched, were sitting in back, discussing the events that they had witnessed. Maria was sitting near Shawn, throwing a glance at his still form every so often.
"Don't be so quick to doubt the existence of magic kid," Tom spoke up from his seat. He was scratching Mozart behind the ears, the spirit's tail thumping a mile a minute.
"True Tom," Beast said, nodding wisely from his pilot's seat, "As a great man once said, "There are more things in heaven and earth than can be contained in any philosophy."" Scott opened his mouth to argue, but was cut off by a groan from Shawn. Maria hung back, but nonetheless had a worried expression. He sat up then, stretching as he groaned. He worked his neck from side to side, wincing as a series of sharp cracks emanated from that part of his anatomy. He looked around a minute, taking in the distinct lack of platinum haired rockers, and looked at Sam, who along with Rahne and Tom, had come to check on him.
"Turned us down?" It came out more like a statement than a question.
"Flatter n' a pancake," Sam replied with a wry smile. Beast set the X-jet on autopilot, and came back to check on the dracomorph (AN: I'm going to use this word to describe Shawn's power from now on. Basically it means he turns into a dragon.). After completing his exam, he sat back on his heels.
"And the verdict is…?" Shawn asked. Beast smiled.
"Physically you're fine, but I'd like the Professor to give you a mental checkup, just to make sure everything is alright upstairs. Tapping into your power like that could have produced some strange effects in your mind." Since when have you ever been in your right mind? Bahumut chuckled. I do not understand. Our host seems to be in full possession of his mental facilities Smaug said perplexedly. Shawn sighed mentally. Bahumut, I'm getting the feeling that I'm going to have to explain quite a few things to Smaug. While I'm busy with that, I want you to explain exactly what you are to the professor, and what exactly is going on in here. Hell, half the time you know what's going on in my head better than I do. He jerked out of his revere when he felt a cold nose on his palm. The others had retreated back to their previous positions to let him be alone with his thoughts.
"Yipe! Oh it's just you Mozart." He leaned down to scratch the spirit's ears, whispering as he did so, "Thanks for the assist bud. We may not have beaten them without you." Mozart nodded slightly, taking the thanks in stride. Then Shawn felt a soft hand on his shoulder. He turned, and was surprised to see Maria. She gave him a shy, fleeting smile, before saying two words in a small, clear voice.
"Thank you." She turned to go back to her seat, but Shawn gripped her wrist. She stopped and looked back at him curiously. He smiled and patted the seat next to him. Maria glanced around furtively. Beast was back in the cockpit, with Tom next to him, asking questions about the different buttons and switches, saying "What does this do?" like some two year old. Sam, Rahne and Jubilee were petting Mozart, who was soaking up the attention like a sponge, also effectively acting as a diversion. Jean and Scott were in the back, where Jean was kissing Scott's booboos. He appeared to have been severely injured around the mouth, the way she was attacking it. Maria sat down nervously, keeping a slight distance from Shawn. He noticed this, and smirked.
"Relax; I don't bite; unless you're a steak or cheeseburger." She smiled a bit at the small joke. "But seriously, I should be thanking you." She looked at him in surprise, but before she could say anything, he spoke again. "If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have been able to work up the courage to unlock a potentially dangerous part of my mind and bring it to bear against our opponents. You helped me get over a fear I've had for almost as long as I can remember; and for that, I thank you." Maria blushed lightly, hanging her head so that her hair obscured her face. The rest of the flight passed in relative silence, with only one other incident. Sam had gone up to Tom and, with a puzzled look on his face.
"Who exactly was that Coyote fella?" Tom had seemed to be at a loss for words for a split second, before falling back on the old standby he, Shawn and Mozart had agreed to use a long time ago if anyone ever asked who Coyote was. Tom grinned.
"Just an old friend." Shawn, who had watched the exchange, laughed quietly to himself, so as not to disturb Maria, who had fallen asleep and was currently snuggled obliviously against his shoulder. Mozart, padding up to them, sat down on his haunches and took in the scene. He locked eyes with Shawn and gave the boy a solemn wink, which was returned. After that, Shawn fell prey to sleep's gentle embrace once more. Neither one of the two sleepers noticed the noise of the small Polaroid camera Tom had produced, and was using to capture several pictures of the two snuggled up to one another. "These are definitely going into the scrapbook," he chuckled. "Shawn's first girlfriend" sounds about right for the heading."
-Location Unknown-
A figure was seated in front of what appeared to be a holographic screen, watching the footage that the national news team had gotten of the fight in Cleveland. He, for it was apparently a boy, was scratching the ears of a strange, green cat-shaped creature, with yellow tiger stripes. "Seems like my old buddy got himself into the spotlight yet again." He paused, wincing as Shawn's dragon form descended from the heavens; wings clasped tightly to his sides, and flipped midair, slamming onto the helmeted mutant's shoulders. "That's gonna leave a weird shaped bruise." He seemed to think a bit more, before seeming to come to a conclusion. "Maybe I should pay my old buddy an incognito visit?"
The boy got up and began to gather things together, what appeared to be two ammo belts, worn Rambo style, with small glowing orbs of differing colors and degrees of brightness attached to them, a belt for his waist with two large leather pouches that clanked slightly when he moved. Finally he picked up a pair of daggers with large diamond shaped blades, which he thrust into his belt as he whistled for his small feline companion. In the background, the room's walls were a light green, with dark lines going through it, and every so often a small spark seemed to shot along one of the darker lines, almost like…
-The Institute-
Scott and Jean were the first to disembark from the jet, followed by Tom, Rahne, Sam, Jubilee and Beast. After a few moments, Mozart came trotting out to the accompaniment of several disgusted yells, a smug canine grin on his face. After that, Shawn and Maria stormed out of the jet, with Maria wiping the drool off of her face. Shawn was massaging a bruised check where Maria had elbowed him when Mozart had licked her. Jean looked around a moment, taking in the distinct lack of people to greet them. Only the professor and Storm were there. "Professor, where is everyone?"
"Most of the students have gone their own ways for the day. All except for Bobby and Jamie, who are showing our newest recruit around the mansion." Scott looked a little put out at this news, but the professor continued. "Am I to assume that Kid Razor declined our invitation?" Tom piped up at this point.
"The guy claimed that he wasn't a mutant. And personally, I believe him." The professor shot him a questioning look, which Tom took for a signal to proceed. "From what I've seen, most mutants have one, possibly two powers, usually connected in some way. Razor seems to posses six or seven powers that aren't connected to each other in any way, shape or form." The Professor nodded. He quirked an eyebrow at the team, especially Jubilee.
"I see that no one is the worse for wear after your little, "confrontation"." Jubilee flushed, rubbing the back of her neck in embarrassment. "Jubilee, Maria; Storm will attend to your punishments." He paused, then "However, since your presences gave the team an advantage in your fight, they will not be too severe." He turned to Shawn then. "Shawn, you will be punished as well, after we attend to this new development. I believe it might be best if we go to my office." Shawn sighed before following the professor. The others went their separate ways, except for Tom, who asked to know what was going on. The professor explained as they walked, or rolled in his case.
"Dr. McCoy and I have a theory regarding feral mutants, such as Shawn and Rahne. We believe that they each have an animal persona that is, in essence, their animal forms. I merely wish to see if this is true for Shawn as it is for Rahne." Tom seemed to think this over.
"Alright then, but I want to be in on this." Xavier nodded.
"Of course,
I understand." Shawn followed along
behind the two, not really listening. He
glanced out of one of the windows as they passed it, and spied a new motorcycle
in the garage. This intrigued him, so he
spoke up.
"Hey, professor?"
"Yes?"
"Is that a new bike for Logan?"
The professor paused for a moment, and looked back out the window. "No, that particular machine belongs to our newest recruit, Rick Carter." Anticipating the next question, Xavier spoke again. "His powers give him the ability to project vibratory waves through the air, causing quite a bit of damage when they hit." Shawn nodded.
"So where's he rooming?" The professor seemed to squirm a bit in his chair.
"Well… Since you and Sam have the most spacious room…and the others can't really share… and since you and Sam are probably the two least likely to have any, shall we say, differences with him, I've decided that…"
"I got a new roomie, huh?"
"Yes." Shawn was silent for a moment, then grinned.
"As long as he doesn't snore as bad as Sammy-boy I'm good." Tom just shook his head, as the professor gave a quick grin. The three of them arrived at the office and entered. Xavier gestured to a chair, asking Shawn to sit there. Tom sat in one of the other spare chairs. Charles wheeled himself in front of Shawn.
"Now Shawn, I need you to close your eyes, clear your mind and relax." As he spoke, he raised his hands until they were on either side of the boys head. The professor shut his eyes as he slipped himself into Shawn's consciousness.
Charles found himself in what appeared to be a plain room, with four doors, one on each wall. One was a plain wooden door, with a sign tacked on it that said "Warning, Live Teenager- Enter at Own Risk". Opposite, was an opening covered with a curtain. Third was an opening that seemed to lead into a large cave, with stalagmites at the entrance. Finally, there was a heavy iron door that was barricaded with several bands of metal, more locks than seemed possible, and a sign that said "Sub-Conscious, Do Not Enter, Under ANY Circumstances". "This is a strange sort of mind," the professor mused to himself.
"Well; it takes a strange sort of person to support two other minds within his own Chuck," a voice chuckled from behind him. The professor turned to find himself nearly nose-to-nose with one of the strangest beings he had ever seen. It was a man, with brown hair and a moustache/goatee combo, as well as eyes that perfectly matched Shawn's in hue, wearing what appeared to be the upper half of a roman centurion's armor. The lower half was a pair of jeans with metal plates worked into them and the same T-rex feet as Shawn's fully transformed figure possessed. He also had an empty scabbard hanging from the belt at his waist. From his back sprouted a pair of robin's-egg blue dragon wings. He gave a fanged grin and wiggled his fingers in a small wave. "Hey Joe, whadda ya know?" The professor blinked, looked at the man who was still grinning; and blinked once more.
"What…who are you?" he demanded, gathering his powers if the being proved to be an enemy. The being's grin became even wider as he made an elegant leg.
"Bahumut; at your humble service." His grin faded a bit as he looked up. "And as to what I am, I'll explain in a moment." His grin returned in full force. "But first, let's attend to the matter that you came here for in the first place." Bahumut strode over to the wooden door and opened it, gesturing for the professor to follow. The two found themselves in what appeared to be a normal teenage bedroom. A few video games were piled in a corner, there was a dartboard that had a picture of a gorilla-like teen, which looked to be severely lacking in the intelligence department, and several magazines lay scattered about, mostly things like "Martial Arts Monthly", though the professor was sure he spotted a single "Playboy" sticking out from underneath the bed. One wall had several posters on it, varying from classic rock groups to comedians like Sinbad, to one that seemed to be a blow-up of a picture of Maria laughing. In one corner lay a large storage bin, which seemed to give off a grayish light. "This is Shawn's section of the mind, as you can see, pretty standard stuff," Bahumut said, indicating the room with a sweeping gesture. Before the professor could ask what he meant by "Shawn's section", Bahumut walked back out the door, calling over his shoulder, "Shawn's in Smaug's section right now, we'll go there next, then to my section and I'll answer any questions you have there."
The professor followed, curiosity getting the better of him. Bahumut led the way to the cavern-like opening and stepped through. Once again, the professor found himself in a new setting. This time, it was a large, comfortably dry cave, with a thick carpet of moss covering the floor. The sound of voices was coming from deeper within. Bahumut motioned for the professor to follow, and the two ventured into the cave. They turned a bend and came upon the source of the voices.
Shawn was calmly standing in front of a huge gray dragon with red wings, which was wrapped around a large stalagmite, watching him with interest. Shawn had a pointer in one hand, which he was using to point to one of those boardroom style easels, with a picture of Logan on the uppermost piece of cardboard (AN: What the hell are those things?!?!) He whapped the board with the pointer. "And this one?" The dragon thought for a moment, then spoke.
"Flight mate?" Shawn nodded. He pulled the card down, revealing a picture of Maria. He tapped it with the pointer. "Potential mate?" Shawn blushed, but nodded all the same.
"Just don't go saying that if you're ever in charge of the body, okay?" The dragon nodded his huge head, and Shawn proceeded to change the pictures once more. This time it was a fairly good likeness of Mr. Smith, Tabby's father. "This guy?"
Smaug considered it for a moment before answering, a grim smile on his face. "Barbeque." Shawn nodded; an identical smile upon his face. He changed the picture once more, this time to a picture of the professor himself. Smaug didn't even hesitate, "The Flight Leader," he said, with a note of respect. Bahumut led the way out once more, neither one bothering the lesson going on; but not before the professor noticed that the column Smaug was curled around was giving off a grayish glow, similar to the one that had been being given off by the storage bin back in Shawn's room.
The two of them crossed through the white room once more time, with the professor finally speaking up. "What is this place?" Bahumut spoke over his shoulder as he walked.
"It's basically the one percent of Shawn's mind that isn't assigned to myself, Shawn, or Smaug. The other ninety-nine percent is divided evenly between the three of us." He swept the curtain covering the final opening aside, and gestured Xavier through. Charles found himself in what appeared to be an outdoor atrium, with several touches of roman style. Near the entrance was a roman style column, giving off the same glow that the professor had seen in the other two sections of his student's mind. In the center of the space was a small, open-air house with a small ramp leading up to the entrance. The professor wheeled his way in, following Bahumut's lead. The being sat down in a small chair. "Now I believe that it's time to answer your questions. What do you want to know first?"
"Well, what exactly are you? And why is Shawn's mind sectioned off like this?" Bahumut grinned and shook his head knowingly.
"The first questions are always the hardest, aren't they?" He settled back in his chair, as he began his narrative. "My story begins several centuries ago. I was a centurion in the roman army, one of those sent to Ireland to conquer it. I ended up being captured and put to work on the estates of a powerful warlord, The O'Reily. I accepted my lot and became a valued worker, eventually earning my freedom. I fell in love with The O'Reily's daughter, Beth, and we were married. But soon after the birth of our son, I was called to fight in a battle because of my experience as a warrior. I was mortally wounded, and, as I lay dying, I wished to myself that I could have seen my son grow up."
As he spoke, his face drooped into a frown, before twisting into a wry smile. "I got my wish," he chuckled. "Apparently I had been born with a great deal of psychonic energy. This gift had been passed to my son as well, forming a link between our minds. Before I drew my last breath, my untapped powers drew on this link, and transferred my mind into the unused portion of my son's brain." The professor took this all in with growing astonishment as Bahumut continued. "I was able to watch my son grow, giving him advice and support subconsciously. When he had a son of his own, I found that the power I had was now present in the firstborn child of each generation of my line. When my grandson grew to about ten years old, the bond he shared with his father pulled me through into his mind. And so on and so forth. Over the years I've learned how to block the bond so that I could stay in one mind as long as I wanted. I also learned how to 'section off' the unused portion of my descendants minds so that I could have a place to rest without getting annoyed by stray thoughts." He looked at the professor. "Do you have any idea of the type of stuff teenagers think about today?" he laughed. Charles found himself nodding and chuckling along with this strange being.
"So in essence, you are Shawn's ancestor?" he asked. Bahumut nodded. "I assume that Shawn is aware of your presence?"
"Shawn's a special case. I helped him through some tough times when he was a kid, and later on when Smaug first emerged." The professor leaned forward in interest.
"Go on."
"When Shawn was about ten, Smaug began to develop. But he was extremely vicious at the time, taking everything for a threat. I drew on Shan's psychokinetic energy to create a sort of holding cell for the dragonet. Eventually I also sectioned off Shawn's mind into thirds. His portion, my own portion, and Smaug's portion; each portion consisting of thirty-three percent of Shawn's brain. The leftover one percent was turned into The Nexus, which we use to communicate between ourselves. As time passed though, Smaug began to grow stronger, making it possible for him to escape. In response, Shawn's power base grew. Today, Shawn took down the cell and released Smaug." He shook his head once again. "It turns out, that locking the big lug up like that wasn't even necessary. He just oversimplifies things. To him any type of threat is something that needs to be destroyed, if only to keep himself and his flight safe. But Shawn's working to break him of the habit." He leaned back n his chair. "And that's the whole story."
"Thank you for this information Bahumut. But I have one other question. I've noticed that in each of the sections is an object that is giving off a strange glow. What are they?"
"When Shawn took down the barrier that kept Smaug contained, the energy was too much for him to contain in his portion of his mind alone. That's one of the main reasons that he went berserk during the fight. That was also what caused the shockwave and the aura. Anyway, I divided up the power so that each of us received an equal measure of it. But for some reason, Shawn doesn't appear to be able to properly tap into the power, While Smaug and I can access into it with ease." Bahumut looked up at a small clock that was mounted on one of the walls. "I think that it's time for you to leave Chuck, you've been in here for about two hours." Charles nodded.
"Thank you for this information, it's been most helpful." So saying, Xavier closed his eyes and eased out of his student's consciousness. He slumped in his chair as Shawn opened his eyes. "Well," he said wryly, "You've been keeping secrets, haven't you?" Tom looked up from the comic book he had pulled out of his back pocket after the first ten minutes had gone by and neither had moved a muscle.
"Whadda ya mean by that?" Xavier turned and face him.
"Shawn has two completely separate entities living within his mindsacpe. One is his feral persona, but I doubt you'll believe me when I tell you what the other one is." Tom raised an eyebrow at this.
"Try me." Xavier waited a beat, then told him. Tom was silent for a moment then… "I think I need some whiskey." Xavier wheeled over behind his desk and pulled out a large bottle of Jack Daniels, along with two shot glasses.
"Shawn, you can go now. Your punishment will begin tomorrow." Shawn nodded and left. He made his way to his room, listening to the normal commotion of the mansion in the early evening. Tabby was downstairs doing dishes; he could hear her cursing the brillo pad to a fiery eternal damnation from here. Scott and Jean were performing one of their various 'exercises' as he passed the leader of the X-men's room. Looking out a window, he saw Rahne and Sam playing Frisbee, while Jubilee, Ray and Bobby were playing a game of basketball against a trio of Jamies. As he passed the steps, he heard an outraged exclamation from Amara, which was covered by the crowing of 'Berto. He had heard Kitty mutter something about missing a date with Lance earlier, which explained her absence. As he passed by her room however, he saw that Maria was asleep on her bed, the covers thrown messily over her.
He stopped for a moment, debating on whether he should follow the insane idea that had just popped into existence. He shrugged after a moment 'Eh, why not, insane ideas have gotten me this far.' He entered the room, and softly pulled the covers over Maria, tucking her in gently. A soft southern cough had his back going ram-rod straight. He looked over his shoulder to see Rouge, a vicious smirk on her face. "Not. One. Word." He whispered. As he left the room, he heard her sigh and saw her glance at a card she had been hiding behind her back. He grinned. The card was the King of Hearts.
He finally made it to his room and opened the door. "Rick, I presume," he said in a dry voice. The guy sitting on the new bed in the room, guitar in hand, nodded. He was about as tall as Scott, with shaggy brown hair, dressed in a way that screamed "BIKER AND PROUD OF IT!" A leather jacket was hung on one of the bedposts, and a pair of boots rested on the floor. His left eyebrow was pierced, completing his ensemble. Shawn eyed the leather jacket for a moment. "How'd you manage to get that past Kitty without getting the whole 'animals are people too' spiel?" Rick grinned.
"Told her it was pleather; she bought it." Shawn groaned.
"Man that's completely unfair! I eat a lousy cheeseburger and she acts like I'm eating a live baby!" Rick shook his head in sympathy before returning to his guitar. "I take it you play guitar?" Rick shot him a look.
"It aint a ukulele." Shawn grinned.
"I think that this may be the beginning of a be-u-ti-ful friendship." He sat down on his own bed and pulled out some diagrams from under his mattress. "Now," he began in a business-like manner, "What do you know about fire ants and cherry bombs?"
-Late Night, A Bayville Alley-
A small girl ran, he oversized hands pumping as she went. Her breath was coming in gasps, but other than that she made no sound. 'Why did I wander away from the others?' she thought. Behind her, several street thugs gave chase, laughing as they easily cornered the girl in the dead-end alley. Above them, two figures, each unseen by the other, watched the scene, each ready to step in should the situation get out of hand. One of the tightened his grip on a pistol, while the other unhooked a small, dim red orb from an ammo belt across his chest, using his other hand to dip into a pouch at his side and withdraw several small knives.
The girl reached the wall at the end of the alley and began scrabbling desperately, trying to find a way to escape. The thugs leered at her, one wrapping a chain around his knuckles as another took a few practice swings with a lead pipe. The closer of the two watchers threw the orb in his hand, whispering, "Initiate Program" as he did so. It landed at the entranceway to the alley, and began to pulse for a moment, before beginning to give off points of light. The thug's advance on the girl was cut off as a beam of bright light filled the alley, along with the sudden roar of a large motorcycle. They turned around, to see a shadowed figure atop a strange custom bike, with the headlight ensconced in a chrome skull.
"Well, whadda we got here?" the figure sneered in a plainly Bronx accent. "A couple of guyz whos thinks they can mess wit a little girl on my watch?" The figure dismounted from his bike as the gang's leader turned to confront this obstacle.
"We do what…we…want?" His snarling challenge died as the figure became visible. He was tall, nearly seven feet, and thin as a post. A tail swished through the air behind him, and three piercing green eyes peered out of a helmet that covered the top half of his face, leaving his blonde hair to show through the back. He wore several leather buckles over the arms of his bomber jacket, with a bandanna tied around his left arm. Slung around his hips were two loose fitting gun-belts, each one occupied by a double barreled pistol. He grinned, showing off two large fangs.
"Do I have somethin' in my teeth?" The gang members decided that this freak would probably kill them without a second; or first thought for that matter. They ran, trying to keep out of the reach of those spindly clawed arms. Up one the roof, the pistol wielder holstered his pistols as he turned and left. The other person leapt down, next to the strange figure. He was fairly short, and on the wiry side. He had blonde hair, and blue eyes, wearing a worn out wife-beater and brown cargo short. A pair of goggles rested on a bandanna above his eyes.
"Nice job Biker, but you need to go back for a while." The figures face fell.
"Awww, I wanted to blast some wannabe gang bangers," he whined. His 'boss' made a gesture, and the figure burst into bright particles of light, as did his bike, before coalescing into the orb that they had come from. The boy hooked the orb back to his ammo belt, and put his knives back into his pouch. He began to walk slowly towards the girl, when he froze.
"I wasn't going to hurt her you know," he said softly to Spyke, who was wielding one of his flame tipped spears, and had the business pointed at the boy's spine. The boy back flipped out of the way, hurling a knife as he passed over Evan. The dagger knocked the flaming spear from the mutant's hands, but he quickly produced another. He made a move to attack, but stopped when the little girl tugged on his pants leg.
"Torpid, what are you doing, he could be an enemy!" She shook her head vigorously. The other boy pocketed the shurikans that he had produced.
"Listen, I'm just in town to check up on an old friend. I saw what was going on and decided to lend a hand." He eyed the spike in Spyke's hands. "Besides, why would I want to hurt a fellow mutant?" Even grudgingly lowered his weapon.
"Fine." He said gruffly. "I'm Spyke," he added as an afterthought.
"Do tell," the other boy grinned. He offered his hand. "Name's Jon, but my friends call me Hack."
---To Be Continued---
Well, that's Hack. Next time, strange things are happening to the electronics around the Institute. Why are Dr. McCoy's computers suddenly correcting all of his mistakes before he's even aware of them? Why does the DR suddenly seem to have a life of his own? And why is Shawn running the Barney them song through Cerebro? Also, Tom leaves the Institute to return to his dojo. Why? Find out most of the answers next time, but until then, Read & Review!