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Post by Josh Dalton Worthington on Sept 10, 2006 0:54:46 GMT
Josh stealthily sneaks down the corridor in the sub-basement. Like a ninja....
He gets to the hangar entrance and keys it open. There's his target, gleaming prettily in the center of the bay.
The Blackbird sits quietly, beckoning for his touch. In a second, in a second. He takes a quick look around the hangar. No one. Dr. McCoy tended to pull larger projects apart in the bay because of the space. Score!
He walks casually to the landing ramp, remembering the first time he set eyes on her - it was love at first sight. Jean and Storm had been sent to collect him from Miami. They'd come to talk to his parents after the incident at school, convincing him to enroll at the Institute. That night, the three of them had returned to where they'd stowed the Blackbird, and Josh had been hooked ever since. When Ororo had eventually asked him if he was interested in being flight-certified, he'd jumped at the chance.
That seems like forever ago, instead of just over three years. He kept in touch with his parents, but Miami wasn't really his home any longer - it's here, with the X-Men.
He climbs the boarding ramp and walks across the flight deck to the pilot's chair, sitting in it and leaning back. Ororo had indicated he was ready to take his pilot's exam a couple weeks ago. Unfortunately, she'd been so busy that he hadn't racked up many flight hours since, and he missed it. There wasn't anything quite like soaring through the sky at Mach 2.
When Warren had taught him to fly, he'd been ecstatic. However, the two weren't interchangeable - each was a distinctly different experience. The Blackbird was pure speed and strength, all under your control - but delicate, at the same time. His own telekinetic flight was pure.... freedom.
Once Ororo flight-certifies me, I should take Warren for a ride. He spins in the chair, just enjoying being there.
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Post by nightcrawler on Sept 10, 2006 13:40:21 GMT
Josh would eventually learn that just because it looked as if no one was around that it didn't necessarily mean someone wasn't lurking in the shadows unseen. Nightcrawler, for one, was at home in the darkness, his body blending into the shadows and inky black as if a part of the nothingness itself and as an added bonus for the mutant, he could see in the dark as if seeing in the day. Given his appearance, it was no wonder that Nightcrawler chose to use this ability to his advantage any time he could, besides, he was pretty proficient with his hands and had learned the ins and outs of the Blackbird and usually served as a mechanic of sorts, tweaking systems here and there and just being an all around Mr. Fix It.
Kurt was nestled in a corner of the room, thinking quietly to himself and enjoying the dark, when suddenly, the lights flipped on, causing him to teleport to a darker part of the room, situating himself in one of the corners near the ceiling. He wasn't aware of anyone taking the Blackbird out today, but that didn't mean anything and seeing as how Storm was the one who did most of the flying, he was sent into a sense of paranoia. Kurt and Storm had been close at one time and then he just left, no word, no reason and now he wasn't sure how she would react to seeing him. This was one of the reasons why he was hiding thinking, down here in the first place. When he saw a boy creep into view, Kurt smiled, revealing his white teeth and watched the boy make his way across the bay and into the jet.
*BAMF* And then Kurt was inside the Blackbird, the same sound heard and some blackish purple smoke following suit. "Guten Abend," he said as he appeared in front of the boy who was spinning in the chair, not really thinking how his sudden appearance might frighten the boy, or if it would at all, "I trust Ororo has given you permission to be here?," he asked him a bit skeptically as his tail whipped about waiting on the boy to answer.
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Post by Josh Dalton Worthington on Sept 10, 2006 18:09:42 GMT
Josh almost throws himself clear of the chair when Kurt appears out of.... well, nowhere.
You have to stop DOING that! Josh shakes his head for a second. Teleporting was as natural to Mr. Wagner as telekinesis was to him. It wasn't anything unusual. He hadn't been meaning to scare Josh.
>"I trust Ororo has given you permission to be here?"
Well, maybe he had meant to scare Josh. He squirms a little in his seat, studying Mr. Wagner carefully. Josh had gotten to know him a little in the time he had spent at the Institute last time, but then he had left with little notice.
"Well... I have flown the Blackbird plenty of times. Ororo hasn't given me permission to be here, per se. But she also hasn't required me to give it in the past." He centers the swiveling chair on Kurt. "She's been meaning to give me my final piloting exam, but she's always got a packed schedule." He tries to not let disappointment through in his voice. "It's hard to spend so much time with her," he sweeps a hand around the cabin, "and then have weeks where you don't fly at all." He quickly stops talking, as if he'd revealed too much.
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Post by nightcrawler on Sept 10, 2006 19:20:28 GMT
Kurt couldn't help but smile as Josh bolted up from the chair, letting out a bit of a chuckle as well. Teleporting clearly had its fun and advantages and while Kurt wasn't one on abusing one's "gifts", he really wasn't one to let golden opportunities for some fun slip by either. Life in the circus helped one to develop a unique sense of humor and way of looking at life, a way one such as Nightcrawler loved to share with those around him, as his apparent love for pranks showed.
As Josh began to explain himself, Kurt lowered himself onto the ground into a more comfortable and casual crouch, a position in which he was inclined to take than one of standing straight up. "Vell, Ororo has been busy tending to other matters left in the vake of Professor's Xavier's untimely death," Kurt said, putting forth as much courage as he could as he spoke of the Professor's passing. Xavier had been so kind to him and to many others in his life and that touched Kurt in a way, let him feel a kindred feeling of sorts with the old man. It was a real joy to find someone who shared the concern and worry of others as Kurt did and then to have them so quickly pulled away, never to be seen again.....well....that was soul shattering. "I'm sure vhen she has some free time, she will help you with your.......," he said trailing off as he looked down at the ground, searching for the right word...,"Exam," he spoke as he looked back up, "Help you vith your exam," he put together with a smile, laughing at his own struggle with the language.
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Post by Josh Dalton Worthington on Sept 10, 2006 20:15:56 GMT
"I hope so. I know she's busy." Josh smiles a little. "I'm just anxious to get it over with." He looks over at Mr. Wagner.
"I'd actually love to get picked for the X-Men, as well. The idea of being able to make a difference is important. And..." He hesitates for a second, but plows on, "I always assumed I would follow in Dr. Grey's footsteps and make it onto the X-Men someday. With all the casualties the team has faced in the past few months, that day might be sooner than I was expecting - but it makes me want it even more. To make them proud of me." Josh pulls his legs up into the chair and puts his arms around them. I hope you guys are, anyway.
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Post by nightcrawler on Sept 11, 2006 2:27:21 GMT
Kurt had voluntarily chosen to not be an official member of the X-Men, finding the conflict too much for his liking. However, he would help those here with whatever they needed and so in a way, he was a part of the team. Kurt served as councilor, medic and even mechanic for the Blackbird, of course none of these was professionally. He admired the others for what they did and how they risked their well being for others whom they loved and for those they didn't even know, he just hoped this young boy knew the situation he strove to be put in, for none of it would be sunshine and roses.
"Dr. Grey did many vonderful things besides being in the X-Men you know? She was a brilliant voman and helped the Professor vork out many of the laws which protect mutants today, so do not think that being part of the X-Men is the only way to make any of us proud," he said hoping the boy wasn't looking at things from just one side, "Vhat the others do is to be respected, but remember, they do it for no glory nor to impress anyone, they do it so that others such as you and I can have a normal life," he added, smiling as he referred to himself as normal.
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Post by Josh Dalton Worthington on Sept 11, 2006 19:07:59 GMT
"Of course not. Storm has told me enough times that if she could take care of her garden and go see the world she would, but what she does is something essential, and necessary." Josh looks at Mr. Wagner. "Don't think all I want is glory or something. I want to help others, and being an X-Men is the best way for me to do that. A twist of genetics has given me an amazing gift, and I want to use it to make life better for the younger kids here. If they can grow up without fearing other people, so much the better."
He pauses a moment. "I mean, I'm not going to lie. Part of me wants to go have exciting adventures and see the world. But another part of me knows that bad things happen," he swallows a moment as he thinks of Alkali, but soldiers on "and that sometimes, there's nothing we can do about it. But one reason I want to be an X-Men is to try to prevent those times, as much as I can."
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Post by nightcrawler on Sept 12, 2006 3:36:04 GMT
Kurt smiled at Josh's answer, apparently pleased with what he heard. It appeared the boy was on the right track and would no doubt make a fine addition to the team one day...why else would Storm be so willing to help the boy obtain his pilot's license? Ororo had a way of seeing the best in everyone, especially the young ones, perhaps a kindred feeling drew her close to them. Storm's past was a difficult one like Kurt's, but she had not shared too much of it with him, only a little and Kurt had not pushed her to do so either. Storm would tell him what she wanted to and no more and Kurt respected that decision, for it was one he himself made everyday.
"The Professor vould have been proud of you," he said with a weak smile as he stood up a bit, but still slouching and his tail swinging back and forth rhythmically. "Make this vorld better for us all Josh, not just the mutants but for those who fear us as well," he said, showing Josh that all deserved that peace that the X-Men sought for mutants everywhere.
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Post by Josh Dalton Worthington on Sept 13, 2006 1:11:48 GMT
Josh nods solemnly. "I'll try my best, Mr. Wagner. Not only for just us here at the Institute, but for everyone." His mind flashes briefly onto John. He doesn't really know what to think of it - especially with Bobby's recent involvement with him. Things used to be clear-cut, but he's realizing that truly, things never really were. I guess maturity does that to you?
"In the meantime, I'd appreciate it if you'd drop a word with Storm that I'm ready for her piloting exam. The sooner I get done with it, the better!" Josh smiles shyly at Kurt. "Thanks for the talk, but I should probably be on my way. I'm supposed to be meeting the guys for lunch."
He hesitates at the top of the ramp, and looks back. "I hope you're staying with us for awhile, Mr. Wagner. You have a unique perspective on the world, a way of making people at ease, and the Institute is much better off with you helping run things."
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