Face The Music by Underlined Twice
Chapter 2
Jono Starsmore was a man with one goal: to wreak vengeance on the head of the Archangel.
With seeming indifference, he inquired casually over the whereabouts of Warren. A few people seemed surprised to see him out and about when he didn't have classes. Most of the time he stuck to his room in the basement. However, the telepaths of the group did know where Warren was.
Jono wheeled his motorcycle out of the garage and onto the driveway. Archangel was in a bar a few miles away. Jono had no idea how he was going to get in, as he was only seventeen, but he resolved to get to Warren come hell or high water. He started up his bike and sped down the road, his chest burning with intensity now. He tried to calm his anger by thinking of other things, but everything came back to Paige.
Why don't I just admit it? he thought. I love the girl. He was insanely happy for a moment. Then it all came crashing down again. But she doesn't love me. She said it over and over before she started snogging the face off the bastard. Jono pushed all thoughts away that didn't have to do with seriously maiming Warren and pulled into an empty space in front of the bar. As he surveyed the area, he noticed only one person checking IDs and several windows open on the upper levels.
Walking around to the back of the building, where there wasn't anyone around, Jono scaled the wall with the aid of a handy trellis. Easily sliding through the open window, he landed on a carpeted floor without a sound. He straightened his wrappings and walked down into the pub. His eyes scanned the top of the crowd and found Warren sitting at the bar. He had an inkling that he shouldn't attack him in front of fifty-odd humans, so he walked up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder.
(You and me, mate. Outside. Now,) he said menacingly and walked out the front door, Warren following confusedly.
"What's all this about, Jono?" He asked.
Jono shrugged off his coat and started concentrating on controlling himself. Flames were already starting to lick out at the air from minuscule openings in his wrappings.
(Which limb will you miss the least?)
Paige woke with a feeling of ultimate dread. She knew that something was going to go horribly wrong. She vaulted out of bed and shoved her shoes onto her feet. Flinging her door open, she raced down the stairs into the living room.
"Where's Jono?" she demanded. Most of them shrugged.
"He was asking about Warren's whereabouts a few minutes ago," Jean offered.
"And where is Warren, then?" Paige didn't know what was happening, but she knew that she had to get to Jono fast.
"The Elk Hoof Bar," Jean said, puzzled at the entire situation.
Without a single word of thanks, Paige raced into the garage and got the keys to Scott's fastest car. She didn't even bother to close the garage door behind her. She simply pounded down the accelerator and hoped she'd get there in time.
"What?" Warren Worthington was incredibly confused. He had been drowning his sorrows in Piña Coladas when Jono (who was underage and shouldn't have been in a bar) brought him outside like a common miscreant.
(You're going to lose a limb whether you like it or not,) Jono's voice was icy. (I thought I was being polite by letting you choose which one to be rid of.)
Warren eyed the flames spurting out of Jono's chest warily. They were flaring up with a vengeance now and Warren didn't know how good Jono's control was.
A thin laser of psionic energy torched the bottom of his trench coat. Apparently his control was good. Warren took the ruined coat off and laid it to one side. "Now, look, Jono," he said. "Let's not be unreasonable about this—" Another blast was directed at the ground between his feet.
(I'm losing my patience, Worthington. Decide. Or I'll do it for you.) Jono removed his shirt and completely unwrapped the scarves from around his mouth and chest, revealing a furnace of psionic energy in all its destructive glory.
"If this is about Paige, I can explain." Warren said, but that was the final straw for Jono. The man was going to try to talk his way through crushing her heart. He struggled for enough control not to blast everything he could see.
(That's it,) Jono growled and let a blast out towards his opponent. Archangel took to the air just in time, but didn't move quickly enough to save a few feathers.
Paige Guthrie was driving at a speed that was surely damaging the car when she heard and saw the first blast. Shit, she thought passionately and quickly formed a layer of adamantium skin. She jerked the car to a halt and started ripping off her normal skin. She tossed the pieces of it to the ground as she sprinted towards Warren and Jono.
Jono let another blast go. This one was less orderly. He was losing control. He had to finish this quickly. Warren was flying in random patterns, trying to dodge Jono's attacks. He didn't want to fly away and let the monster loose on the innocents. He had to finish this quickly.
Just as Jono tried once more to destroy the feathered bastard, he heard a frantic cry of "No!" from Paige. Using the distraction, Warren dropped to the ground. Jono was taken completely by surprise, and he lost control over his blast. With a mental scream of anguish, the psionic energy exploded from his body, letting loose an onslaught of destruction.
Warren was frozen. Only one thought crossed his mind: I'm going to die on the ground. As if time slowed down, he saw the torrent of energy racing towards him. But just as the flames were reaching out to claim his body, a metallic figure rushed in front of him, taking the full force of the blast.
Paige had no idea what she was doing. One minute she was yelling at Jono to stop, the next she was standing in the path of his psionic blast. And she wasn't dead. The discharge didn't reach her face, so she saw Jono's horrified expression. Knowing that even adamantium couldn't hold up for very long under these circumstances, Paige attempted to move forwards.
Jono could not believe what was happening. Paige was here somehow. She was the victim of his blast. It was happening again. He was killing innocent people. With all the energy he could muster, he did the only thing he could think of: curl up and take the force of the blast himself. As he fell to his knees and tried to direct the force of the discharge, Paige was able to move forward. She suddenly realized what he was trying to do and knew that if he succeeded, it would either destroy the rest of his body, or kill him. She let out a cry of despair and flung herself onto him, absorbing the entire thing.
Jono tried to push her off, but she held on tighter. She'll kill herself! he thought frantically and struggled to make the blast stop.
"Stop struggling, Jono," Paige's voice was faint and breathy under the strain. "It's fuelled by your fear."
(I can't!) he cried. He could feel her adamantium skin start to melt.
"Jono," Paige struggled to keep her voice as calm as possible. "I love you." He was completely taken by surprise for the second time in five minutes. He was shocked into utter inertia. For those few seconds that his mind couldn't wrap around anything, the psionic blast stopped. Paige shuddered and collapsed on top of him in a dead faint. The extra weight of her knocked Jono back onto the ground, rendering him blissfully unconscious. The air was still. Everything was quiet. And then the sirens sounded.
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