X-high Chapter 10
Colossus
Colossus was rudely jerked awake from his deep slumber by the sounds of a young woman's screams.
"Illyana!" He cried instinctively, thinking of the young sister he had left back in Russia. As his breathing slowed and his eyes adjusted in the darkness, he began to realize where he was. In a stinky, sweaty tent surrounded by the sleeping bags of three other teenage boys, two of which were empty.
His eyes darted around the room and locked with Cyclop's, who merely shrugged at Colossus' questioning look. He stood up and slipped on some clothes and stepped outside the tent to investigate the mysterious noise.
A Colossus surveyed the campsite, he noticed that Wolverine's perch that he had claimed the day before was also empty. Behind him, there was a great deal of commotion occurring at the site of the girls' tent. He watched as Rogue threw a snake directly at Nightcrawler and Iceman, causing them both to release high pitched screams. He couldn't help but let out a hearty laugh at the boys' less-than-suave reaction.
"Cyclops!" He called into the tent where his classmate lay, still asleep.
A tired groan came back as a response. "Go back to sleep, Colossus. It's only five am."
"Comrade, come quickly!" Colossus tried to usher him out of the tent, "Nightcrawler and Iceman went through with their plan!"
Within minutes, Cyclops was standing outside of the tent, fully dressed. "Those idiots! I told them not to do it!"
Colossus followed a very agitated Cyclops down to Professor Xavier's tent, but hung back out of the way. Cyclops, on the other hand, joined the conversation and stood behind his mentor.
From his spot about ten feet away, Colossus could pick up snippets of what the group was saying. Due to his limited english, though, he was having difficulty understanding it.
Storm and Wolverine came to stand beside Colossus, who was grateful for the company. However awkward it may be. The two looked sheepish, like children who had gotten into something without the knowledge of their parents.
When the group dissolved due to the Professor and Cyclops' need to think of a punishment privately, Colossus was hoping for the chance to speak with Shadowcat. She, however, pulled Wolverine off to the side to talk.
Disheartened, Colossus went to speak with the rest of the group. "My, friends. That was quiet the, how do you say in english, show?"
"Yes, show is right, Colossus." Phoenix sighed. She was not one to get in trouble and was taking the punishment to heart.
"It was worth it!" Iceman said with tossing a block of ice in the air in a rhythmic fashion.
A 'humph' came from Rogue, "speak fer yerself, ice-fer-brains. Ah fer one ain't lookin' forward ta whatever Cyclops is plannin' fer us. He's gettin' pretty insufferable with all this power the Professor's givin' ta him."
Phoenix muttered something under her breath in response, but was quickly interrupted by a loud cough.
"We're ready for you guys now." Cyclops said hastily, motioning for them to join him as he walked.
He lead the reluctant group toward the clearing where they had held the obstacle course. This time, however, there were several stations set up.
"This was supposed to be our training exercise for today, but we're allowing those who were not involved in this morning's incident to sit out. Also, for those of you participating, we've made each station a little more difficult, and a tad more disgusting." Cyclops told them with a hint of a triumphant grin lining his youthful face.
There was a collective groan from each of the participants, and Colossus felt a great feeling of relief that he had not been involved.
"Oh, and before we start, there's one more thing." Cyclops added gleefully. "You'll each be tied to a partner that I've chosen by one hand and one foot. But, you can use your powers for most of the course."
A loud outcry of 'that's not fair' and 'this is hard enough already' shook the forest. Each of the students protested, but knew that it was no use.
Iceman was tied to Rogue, Shadowcat was tied to Psylocke, and Phoenix was tied to Nightcrawler. They looked around at each other despairingly as they tried to move but were caught up by the ropes.
"Ready, set, go!" Cyclops yelled, instructing them to run to the closest station.
Nightcrawler immediately teleported himself and Phoenix to the first station, the latter of whom folded over and began to puke from the experience. He continued to look at the first station despite her inability.
The first station was a long row of tires that the partners were supposed to step through without tripping. If they tripped or used their powers, they would have to start again.
Shadowcat's first thought was to try and phase through the tires, which warranted a whistle blow from Cyclops. Iceman and Rogue hadn't even started yet, and were instead still arguing at the starting line.
Nightcrawler and Phoenix still made it through the line first, with Phoenix once again returned to full health.
The second station was a series of disgusting foods that the partners would have to scarf down. Phoenix puked on sight of the display, and the pair was forced to sit down.
Shadowcat and Psylocke made it to station two next. Psylocke managed to block the taste receptors in their brains so that they could eat the required things, such as crickets, whole hot peppers, and rotten eggs, without a problem. The two continued on their way.
Iceman and Rogue had started at the first station, but had tripped so many times that they were really getting nowhere.
The third and final station was a large tub of a slime-like material that the participants would be forced to swim in to find a hidden token, which they would present to Cyclops.
Shadowcat phased the two of them through the tub until they could see the little slip of paper that was hidden beneath the murky surface. "Got it!" She exclaimed, only half covered in the slime. They raced over to Cyclops and presented him with the sip.
Cyclops smiled at them and opened the slip of paper for them to see. The smudged ink read, '50 push-ups, 50 sit-ups, and 50 burpees.'
The girls groaned but started out on their task.
Nightcrawler had begun to eat the items at station two, enough for both him and Jean, but was having difficulties getting past the appearance of the cricket. "It looks as if it could just hop away!" He exclaimed.
Iceman and Rogue had finally passed station one, but had reached an impasse at the second station, with Rogue refusing to eat any of the things presented to her.
Shadowcat and Psylocke finished up their list quickly, pushed on by adrenalin.
"We're finished!" Shadowcat shouted, grinning at Colossus before blushing and looking away.
"Very good," Cyclops said sarcastically, "you don't loose."
Cyclops watched the other pairs flounder about the stations for a few more minutes before blowing his whistle. They untied themselves and went over to join the others.
"I can't say that I'm not disappointed by you guys." Cyclops frowned. "That was a pitiful use of your powers and your partners all around. Go get cleaned up and we'll have lunch in a bit."
Most of the participants stalked off angrily to go get changed, but Phoenix stuck around, clearly put up with Cyclops' attitude.
Colossus decided that it was best if he didn't get involved in the affairs of his classmates and decided to retreat back to his tent. However, his plans were interrupted when Wolverine grabbed his arm along the way.
"Hey," the shorter teen said, "whadya think of the squirt, y'know, Shadowcat or whatever?"
Colossus looked him up and down, unsure of what he was getting at. "She is a good friend and very intelligent."
"No, like," Wolverine sighed. "Y'know what? This isn't worth twenty bucks. I'll catch you at lunch."
With that, the stalky teen was off to do whatever he spent his mornings doing. Colossus assumed smoking, but didn't care to look into it.