Unrelenting (X-Men fanfic)

Chapter Five

"So," Bobby Drake, a.k.a. Iceman, concluded. "What do you think?"

Josh and Ivy shared a bewildered and exhausted look. Neither one knew what to think, especially when all they could think about was how desperately each of them needed food and sleep, and in Ivy's case, a shower.

"It's..." Ivy struggled to pull a good word out of her weary mind.

"Great!" Josh finished unenthusiastically.

"I think,"  Ivy added blandly, yawning.

Bobby started to look offended, but changed his mind when he observed Josh start snoring while standing up. Ivy tentatively poked his shoulder, and he snorted as he shook himself awake.

"Look, I can tell you guys are tired." He paused while Josh and Ivy nodded in unified stupor. "So why don't we get you something to eat and a place to sleep. I guarantee you guys will be more than comfortable here."

"At this point I'd be comfortable sleeping in the Temple of Doom." Ivy mumbled as Bobby led them upstairs to separate empty bedrooms.

Josh snorted. "The Temple of Doom sounds pretty darn appealing right now." He managed just before he collapsed onto the bed Bobby had shown him to.

Bobby led Ivy to an empty room down and across the hall from Josh's room. All she could do was stare at the twin-size bed that looked to be about as big and comfortable as a cloud to he sleep-deprived eyes.

"Good night," Bobby said with an amused smile as he closed the door.

Ivy mumbled something that was meant to be "Good night," but came out more like "Uh duh," as she collapsed onto the wonderful bed. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

Josh woke up in a strange room, on a strange bed, with no recollection of how he got there.  Sunlight streamed through the open window, casting rich, golden rays on the thick mohagany walls and floor.

He sat up stiffly, vagualy aware of his wrinkled clothing.  Looking around, he spotted his backpack in a corner on the floor. When he got up and check it, everything was as he'd left it.  Suddenly his stomach growled, bringing two things to his attention: First, the previous night's events, and with those events, the fact that Josh hadn't had a bie to eat in about sixteen hours.

That's a long time, Josh thought as he decided to find some food.  Hopefully no one else was waiting for the opportunity to pulverize him.

Opening the door softly, Josh poked his head out and looked in both birections down the hallway, making sure no one was looking for him.  Seeing that the hallway was empty, he crept out of his bedroom and gently closed the door behind him.

As he walked, he began to notice how old this house was- and how it was much too big to be a house. No, this place fell more into the "White House" category- that's how big it was.  He'd probably walked somewhere close to a mile before he'd finally discovered the dining hall, and all the chaos that came with it.

Okay, it wasn't really "bad" chaos. Josh would just need to adjust.

There were many kids there, each different in age, hieght, race, and mutated gifting.  Some were as young as five years old, while others were as old as college.  There were also several adults in the room, dupervising the younger kids.

What was truly strange to Josh, though, was how happy these kids were.  They all sat together and talked and laughed while they ate their breakfast.  One twelve-year-old boy was telling a story to a group of ten other kids.  This would have been perfectly normal, were it not the way that he told his story: as he spoke, the image of what happened came to life in the air in front of his audience.  It just... appeared.  Josh blinked several times, but it would seem that he wasn't imagining it.